


Second Chances

by Noxchild



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Detective Amamiya Ren, Detective Kurusu Akira, Eventual Happy Ending, Fateswap, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Role Reversal, Slow Burn, Trickster Akechi, Unrequited Goro/Yusuke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-04-28 23:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 203,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14460033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noxchild/pseuds/Noxchild
Summary: Having lived in an institution all his years, Goro Akechi gains a second chance at life when he receives the opportunity to go to Shujin Academy as a scholarship student in his last year of high school. All he intends is to keep his head down, impress his teachers, and make his way unharmed through a society that has never wanted him. Unfortunately, obstacles block his every way - not that he's alone, with an army of friends and a magical talking cat watching his back, plus a mysterious hook-nosed man in his dreams who thinks he's a trickster in need of someseriousrehabilitation.Oh, and he may or may not be the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and transforming Japan one changed heart at a time.(A P5 Role Reversal AU in which Goro Akechi is the Trickster, Akira Kurusu is the popular young detective known as the Third Eye, the Phantom Thieves are the Phantom Thieves, and a few other things have changed as well.)





	1. Live an honest student life

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first piece of fanfiction I've written since peddling Kai/Rei at the tender age of eleven on FFN, so please excuse some jankiness and inconsistencies along the way IT GETS BETTER I PROMISE
> 
> Also please suggest some tags for me to add so the story is accessible to more people!

**1\. Live an honest student life**

Tokyo. Wow.

Goro adjusted his bag strap and stepped out of the Yongen-Jaya station with trepidation. He was running late.

Of course, that wasn't of his making - a train delay, missed transfer, having to scrounge in the depths of his duffel bag for change to make up for the loss. It wasn't enough, and only the deadly combination of country bumpkin innocence, his faded but clean clothes and the lilting confusion in his voice convinced the station attendant to give him the necessary fifty extra yen from her own wallet and let him pass the turnstile and make the trip to Yongen-Jaya successfully.

Thank the gods Goro had freckles. He doubted anything would ever go his way otherwise.

* * *

 He practiced introductions under his breath in a thousand permutations as he passed the narrow streets of Yongen in search of his target, address slip in hand. People milled about in corners and gaps, as if there was truly nothing better to do on a breezy April afternoon than to stand in the streets and chatter like neighbourhood gossips.

 _They're not looking at you_ , he thought, and nearly believed it.

That was right. No one here knew who he was, where he'd come from. His lineage or lack thereof. It made the butterflies settle in his stomach - at least, until he realised he was lost.

Come on, Akechi. Use that famed intellect that got you a scholarship your last year of high school a universe away from everything you've ever known. That allowed you to _stay_ in high school, and make a new start in life.

Make a new start. That was the idea.

He steeled up and went to the police officer loitering with nothing to do, smile in hand, and said, “Excuse me, sir, could I have your assistance? I’m looking for an address, and…”

Goro’s words drifted away as the man looked at him. At home police officers were the bane of his existence, and not because he was a delinquent or anything so attention-grabbing. No, his presence did that all by itself. The town was small; everyone knew who the institution boys were and stayed clear of them. It took him years of near-perfect grades, part-time jobs and volunteering around the community to be deemed one of the good ones, and yet, every time he was caught past curfew because a job kept him out late he got him a personal escort back the five blocks to the home.

Such a waste of resources. Even so, he held his breath. He couldn’t be afford to be seen as suspicious.

In Tokyo, he was a rule-abiding citizen like everyone else.

And he _definitely_ didn't have a grudge against the police.

“Let me see,” the man said in a gruff voice, and it took Goro a thought too long to pass him the slip. The officer gave him a onceover too, saw his baggy clothes and mop of light brown hair and half-empty duffel bag. Goro scuffed his shoes and kept his smile up.

“You’re not from here, are you?” the officer said finally.

“No, sir,” Goro said.

“Visiting family?”

“I… something like that, yes.” His mouth watered. “I’m planning to attend a local high school here. I have a scholarship,” he added, then bit his tongue. Stupid! Why give a stranger that much information about him.

“Really?” The officer’s face broke into a smile. “Wish my son was so smart. Too busy playing Gun About or nonsense like that.” He gave Goro his slip back. “It’s just down the street. Turn right on the apartment building and it’s the first house on the left.”

“Oh,” Goro said. “Thank you.”

Was it that easy, after all?

* * *

 Naturally, no one was home.

Goro fought off his apprehension as he stared up at the house on front of him. Small, two-story, 3LDK at most. Dingy and grey… worn-out, almost.

Fitting, perhaps, that it was to be his home for the next year.

There was no need to be uncharitable. A home was a home. At the institution he slept on the creaking top half of a rusted old bunk bed in a room with eleven other boys. The bed rattled when he climbed up the ladder, swayed uncomfortably at night.

 _Hot water,_ he told himself. _Your own bath._

He put a capital-S Smile on and turned when he heard the sound of a small truck stopping and a delivery man getting out with a box in hand.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Would you happen to know where the owner of this house is right now?" He waved his hand at the nameplate on the gate. “I rung the bell and no one answered.”

“Sakura-san?” The man adjusted his cap. “He’s always at Leblanc this time of day. Just go back up the street and turn…”

“Thank you,” Goro said for the third time that day, and walked away.

* * *

 Leblanc was the kind of charming shop he'd never been privy to before; all the money he'd earned from his jobs paid for high school and textbooks and the not-bentos he had for lunch. Three or four hundred yen for a cup of coffee was too rich for his blood, and eight hundred yen curry… forget it.

A tinny bell rung as he entered the place, and the proprietor - a middle-aged man behind the counter with glasses and a balding hairline - stopped wiping the counter and said, “Can I help you?”

“Are you Sakura-san?” Goro said, digging nails into his palm. “I'm Akechi Goro, from the Fuefuki Boys’ Home. I'm supposed to stay with you for the next year.”

Silence. A youngish male customer chuckled and said, “Boss! You taking in strays now?”

“Can it,” the owner grumbled. “Yeah, I'm Sakura. Sakura Sojiro. A lady from your place called me up a week ago. The date must have slipped my mind. Sorry about that.” He rolled his shoulders. “Still got some work to do before I close up though.”

“Oh,” Goro said. “I can walk around if need be - “

“Don't be ridiculous,” Sakura-san said. “Stop blocking the entrance and sit down. Have some curry while you wait. You look like you could use it.”

“Yes, sir,” Goro said, and got out of the way.

* * *

 Goro was wrong about everything. Eight hundred yen curry was _awespiring._

The rice was fluffy and speckled green with minced parsley, tiny emeralds among gleaming sticky-sweet pearls. The curry was _hot_ , chunks of beef butter-soft in his mouth, carrots and potatoes and rich, spicy, _thick_ sauce. And the pickled red ginger…

All he'd had the whole day was conbini melonpan and a plain onigiri with only a pitted umeboshi in the centre - a shameful indulgence, considering his meager funds. He should have been able to chew off the hunger a bit longer, but he had quite literally been unable to stop himself. Ergo, begging for change from a train station attendant later on. Embarrassing.

A napkin appeared in his line of sight. Goro jolted and looked up to see Sakura-san gazing down at him with a dry smile and a steaming cup of coffee in hand.

“You missed a spot.”

Goro took the napkin, bemused. His plate was clear, as was the table.

“I meant your face, kid,” Sakura-san said. “You’ve got sauce on your chin.”

Goro wiped it off at once, getting the older man to chuckle as he slipped his coffee. In his curry haze it seemed the customer had left, and it was just the two of them in the cafe.

Sakura-san put his coffee down and slid into the seat across Goro, the set of his shoulders all business. “Now that you're fed and watered, I'm setting down some ground rules. The lady from your place said you were a good kid, but that was then. Tokyo's a big place. Shibuya's got a lot of temptations for a guy your age - you _know_ what Shibuya is, yeah?”

“Yes, sir,” Goro said.

“Kid, if you want me to like you, call me _Boss._ ”

“Yes, sir,” Goro said. “... Boss.”

The man's thin lips pressed tight, and he started rubbing his fingers together like he wanted a cigarette. He probably did. 

A brief silence yawned between them. Then Goro took a breath and said, “I'm very grateful for this opportunity. Ogawa-sensei had a hard time finding a place for me in Tokyo. Shujin doesn't have dorms, so I would have lost my scholarship otherwise. So… thank you, for giving me a chance. I promise you won't regret it.”

Sakura-san fixed him with a stare as intense as the sun on pale skin. He took a long staggered breath and now Goro _knew_ he was a smoker.

He said, “Kid, we all have people we don't want to disappoint,” and left it at that.

* * *

 Ground rules were thus: Goro was to be a model student. He was to come to Leblanc every day to check in with ~~Sakura-san~~ ~~Boss~~ Sakura-san before the place closed, and he was definitely not allowed to roam out past seven. He was to keep a record of his daily habits - a journal if you will - for the institution’s benefit. Goro was a test case, pushed and encouraged by Ogawa-sensei; if he did well this year, the other boys might be encouraged to keep on with their studies in hope of a high school scholarship and a place to live in that looked like home.

If.

Goro said nothing in objection. He was used to worse.

“Oh,” Sakura-san said. “And you'll be living here at Leblanc. Up in the attic.”

“Excuse me?” Goro said.

“You heard me,” the man said. “Got a problem with that?”

“Not at all,” Goro said with a Smile. “May I see this attic first?”

Sakura-san got up and collected both his cup and Goro’s used plate, dumping them in a large plastic bin by the counter. “Just past the bathroom,” he said, with the audacity to sound _amused._

Goro followed, thinking nothing.

Up a set of narrow wooden stairs and the two of them stood in a space both cavernous and claustrotrophic. The room (if you could call it that; it had no door or partition) was piled high with what Goro could only assume was _junk_ and decades’ worth of paraphernalia. The amount of dust floating about would induce asthma in a long distance runner.

"Well?" said Sakura-san.

Goro took a deep breath, then regretted it. He shielded his cough with the back of his hand, then managed, "I'll have to clean."

"So you like it." It was a statement.

Goro closed his eyes. No, he didn't... like it. Didn't like the thought of living in a glorified packrat's den, of anyone and everyone being able to wander up if they felt like it, of hearing all the din that went on in a cafe - clinking dishes, flushing toilet, the incessant chatter of strangers and the processed sincerity of news anchors on the old CRT downstairs.

He would have no privacy. But he was used to that, and here he wouldn't have to share.

He'd have a bed of his own, God willing. A place to toss and turn without fear of the frame collapsing and crushing the boy who slept beneath him. His own desk to study at, instead of the scratched up tables in the institution common rooms that screeched horribly when pushed across the linoleum floor.

A place to hang his clothes and not worry about them getting stolen.

(What did he have, really: three sets of shirts, three sets of pants, a pair of worn leather loafers, a near-new argyle sweater vest he snagged from a second-hand shop for five hundred yen, just enough underwear to get by without having to hand wash them every other day... and the beige dress coat Ogawa-sensei bought as a present when the acceptance letter from Shujin rolled in. It cost over ten thousand yen, and he still couldn't bear to take it out of its personal bag.)

What a poor bastard he was, to try and justify living here with some measure of content. But the ado about beggars went something like this, and Goro had always been a beggar.

He said, "It's a work in progress, but I'm sure that with some care and elbow grease it'll be the perfect place for me," and beamed at a dumbfounded looking Sakura-san.

"So... you do like it," he said.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Sakura-san coughed. "In that case... I was going to offer you a room at my house if you didn't, but if you _insist_ \- "

"I don't," Goro said at once. "I'd much rather live in a house, Sakura-san. No offense."

"Ah, jeez." The man took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth he took out of a pocket. "Kid, I was just trying to pull your leg. What kind of ass would make a teenager sleep in a place like this? Not like I want you poking about the coffee beans when I'm not here either." He put his glasses back on and offered a grin.

Oh. It was... a joke. Goro forced a chuckle, then stopped when he heard how fake it sounded. Even Sakura-san wasn't laughing.

"I see," Goro said finally. "Well... it's been a long day, so. I'd like to retire to my real room, if that's possible. Boss?"

Sakura-san jerked forward. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Sure, let me just close up and we'll head to the house." He walked over to the stairs, then stopped and gave Goro a look. "You're not mad, are you? You looked so uptight I thought a joke might ease things up... but clearly it didn't land or you'd actually be smiling right now."

 _I am smiling_ , Goro wanted to protest, but already the man could see through his mannerisms. He'd have to be careful or he'd never have a moment of peace to himself.

"I'm not mad, Sakura-san," he said. "But I am... disappointed."

And oddly enough, that did the trick. Sakura-san gave a snort of acknowledgement and said under his breath, "Yeah, you and everyone else I know."

* * *

Goro's room was on the first floor. It was small, with light wooden floors and a frosted window for privacy. The bed was _just_ long enough to keep his feet on the mattress, and the desk had a folding chair of all things to sit on.

But there was a large traditional closet to put all his belongings in, and the door had a lock on it.

Oh, and he could turn the light switch on and off by himself.

Goro spent five minutes just flicking it on and off in sheer curiosity while Sakura-san was in the bath ("Just down the hall; don't get the bathwater dirty."), stopping only when the light bulb looked like it might have a nervous breakdown.

The bath, when it was his turn, was even more revelatory. He sat on the stool in the washing area and shivered when the shower spray soaked him scalp-first, down his face and chest and hips. The water was hot. The shampoo...

He'd have to get his own. Sakura-san with his meager hairline probably did not want Goro using up half his shampoo every time he had to wash. Goro's hair was long and thick and impractical, the target of more than one bully's ire back home. Even Ogawa-sensei had once counselled him to cut it, when he'd come home with his knees scraped up and gum in his hair.

Instead, Goro had just neatly trimmed the offending parts and brushed his hair out like so until no one could notice the absence. In Fuefuki his hair had been a problem area. It made him stand out.

He didn't care. It was the one part of him that felt exuberant, a little luxurious and self-indulgent. A buzzcut didn't suit him. Never would.

 _No more split ends for you_ , Goro thought absurdly, and washed the spot behind his ears.

* * *

(That night he slept under a red duvet and fought off a pounding headache until he woke at midnight and realized he had yet to turn the light off. It was never up to the boys at the institution. After he managed to crawl out of bed and turn the light off properly, the darkness that came was a sigh of relief as sweet as a woman's laughter.

 He dreamed someone was singing him a lullaby. She had his mother's smile, and _his_ eyes.)

The morning after led to leftover curry for breakfast (somehow leftover curry tasted even better than freshly cooked), Sakura-san wearing an improbably stylish white trilby as he grumbled about driving Goro to school to pick up his uniform and get acquainted with the staff, which led to, well...

"Jeez," Sakura-san muttered as they left the school and made way to his car, parked a few streets away. "They really had to lay it thick on ya if you screw up, huh?"

Goro shrugged. "It can't be helped. Shujin Academy has a reputation to maintain. Taking in a scholarship student is one thing, but an institutionalized orphan?" It was amazing how light he kept his voice. "It'd be foolish if they weren't cautious about me."

"Yeah, I get it," the man said. "Still, why'd they even accept you if they had a stick up their asses about it?"

"It's possible they only saw my grades when they accepted me, and looked up my background after they already sent out the letter," Goro said. "Ergo, the anguish earlier."

"You call that anguish?"

"I'm sure they saw it that way," Goro said. "And I'll do my best to live up to their expectations."

(And maintain his scholarship, naturally.)

"Yeah, kid? And what about mine?"

Goro stopped. "... is there something you want from me, Sakura-san?"

" _Boss_ , I said. And you don't have to phrase it like that!" ~~Sakura-san~~ Boss sighed and pulled down his hat. "I mean... I could use an extra pair of hands at Leblanc once or twice a week. You ever made coffee before? Or curry?"

"No, sir," Goro said, then watched Boss turn a bizarre shade of purple. "Sorry," he said after, not very sorry at all. "I literally cannot stop myself sometimes."

"Sure you can't," Boss grumbled. "Anyway, it's just an idea. Not like you can work right now either, and I figure kids like you don't get much of a chance to cook your own food. It'll come in handy too, when you're looking to fix a treat for that special someone in your life later on."

"Sounds like a challenge indeed," Goro said. He could not imagine anything more absurd than having a quote unquote special someone to cook and fawn over, but Boss had taken on a wistful tone and looked to with a misty gaze. Was he a romantic? _Him?_

"Well, then," he added. "I'll be in your care yet again, then."

"It's just coffee, kid," Boss said, but he couldn't help the slight smile on his face, and neither could Goro.

* * *

  _At Leblanc. No leftovers to heat up; just make tamago gohan or something. Don't make a mess. Get to school on time._

No name given. But the note on the fridge attached to a plastic red A magnet (was that for him? No, it couldn't possibly be) couldn't have been written by anyone else.

Goro then opened the fridge and sighed. 

One semi-botched breakfast later (tamago gohan, tamago okayu... both involved rice, didn't they?) and a semi-disappointed but full stomach later, Goro left the Sakura house, crisp new uniform on (it _fit_ , he thought, and tried not to laugh like a hyena when he saw himself in the mirror with that ridiculous black blazer and white turtleneck and _checkered_ pants of all things - for a high school!), house keys in his school bag and fancy commuter pass in his pocket.

He left the house half an hour early, intending to make a good showing for his first day. He had no desire to confirm the Principal's worst suspicions of him, and his homeroom teacher...

Well. Goro had seen eyes on people like that before, and the best strategy to handle them was to be forgettably conformative. Neither to stand out or strike out. Just slink away into the shadows, and not be called upon unless absolutely necessary.

His personality was good for many things, but it could not reproach those who disliked him on first sight. Goro knew he'd better show up on time or else.

So naturally, he was late.

Tokyo was big. The Metro and various railway lines and stations were big, he concluded. Big, and chaotic, with people going every which way, and stores and advertisements and announcements blaring in his small town ears, and was he heading _to_ or _from_ the Ginza Line and...

He made it to Aoyama-Itchome Station and onto the street leading to Shujin eventually. But it had begun raining midway through his journey, and Goro in his infinite wisdom and poverty had no umbrella, but only hands.

Other students were running past with better equipment on hand. Goro stood under an awning half-soaked and thought about asking to share. But no - he was the transfer student, a third-year and yet a stranger. He ought to sit still until introduced.

Ah - an opportunity. A female student in a white hoodie joined his awning, and as she tugged it down he put on his most concerned voice and said, "Excuse me, would you happen to - "

Blonde hair. Blue eyes. _Pigtails_. American? Goro's voice caught in his throat.

(Not that light brown hair was natural to most Japanese either, but he digressed.)

"Sorry?" the girl said, and appearances be deceiving, for that _was_ a Japanese voice and none other. "Did you say something?"

"Umbrella," Goro said. "I was wondering if you had an umbrella on you." He gestured to his damp blazer. "I'm quite... well, it's obvious, I suppose."

The girl shrugged and smiled. "Sorry! I'm in the same situation. I'd share otherwise, you know?"

"I understand," Goro said. He looked up at the sky and sighed. "I guess we'll simply have to run for it. Well, shall we - "

He didn't get to finish that thought. A silver car rolled up in front of him, and the window scrolled down. Wearing a blue tracksuit and leaning forward from the driver's side was Goro's new homeroom teacher.

Offering them a lift to school.

No, that wasn't accurate. He offered to the girl first, then Goro.

He could refuse. But she'd already accepted, and this _was_ a solution, wasn't it?

He had to remember his own rules too. Don't stick out. At least, not yet.

"My thanks," he said, and got in the backseat. As soon as he locked his seatbelt in the car drove off, and Goro got a glimpse of a boy with garish blond hair in a Shujin uniform staring at them. Standing just where Goro had, and no umbrella in sight.

Opportunity didn't strike for everyone, he guessed.

The drive was mostly quiet save for Kamoshida-sensei asking the girl this and that about her life, and she answering in cheery - yet curt - statements and light laughter. Once in a while the man looked at his front view mirror to where Goro could be seen, but said nothing until they reached the school parking lot, and the girl left - "See you later, Takamaki." "Ri - right. See you too!" - did he scratch the back of his neck and said, "Well, Akechi? You got what I said to you yesterday, right?"

"Yes, sir." Goro kept his smile small and inoffensive. "I understand completely."

"Good," Kamoshida said. "Well, we might as well go in together. I have to introduce you to the class, after all." He pursed his lips and said, "You wouldn't happen to be good at sports, would you?"

"No, sir," Goro said. "I'm afraid I never had much in the way of time or resources to pursue physical activities. I did bike on occasion, but - "

"A real brainiac, aren't you? Alright, I get it. Not like the volleyball team needs any more tryouts as it is. Someone like you better stick to books, anyway. You'll need it, with your background."

And what did he mean by that, Goro wondered. But then the school bell rung, and Kamoshida marched up to the school gates and began haranguing students who had the impetus to arrive just a few seconds shy of on time.

All the while, Goro stood beside him, not saying a word or attracting attention.

Only questioning if, to the onlookers he appeared to be a bystander - or a fan.

* * *

 Goro had forgotten to prepare a lunch.

Nor did he have any money.

And the rumour mill had already started. When he'd gone to the bathroom during break, he caught snippets of whispers and allegations in the hallways and washed his hands until they were pruney and the blood no longer rushed to his ears.

"Is it true he's from an... institution? How scary!"

"But isn't he supposed to be a scholarship student? Why would the Principal let someone like that in if it was true?"

"Maybe he was threatened!"

"Maybe he's from a yakuza family! Can you check to see if he has any tattoos?"

"I heard he got a ride from Kamoshida with Takamaki! Can you even imagine?!"

"Well, he's no good if he's associated with _them_ . Takamaki's so... ugh, you know, and _everyone_ knows the rumours about Kamoshida."

"Shh! He's looking at us!"

Everyone? Did everyone know? Really?

Dwelling on secondhand gossip was a fool's game, yet it occupied half of Goro's lunch break. Not like he had... food, to distract himself with. How could he so stupid. Did Boss need to remind him to make his own bento every day too? Rice with furikake and tamagoyaki and cherry tomatoes? Salmon and edamame and mashed kabocha balls?

(Actually, that sounded heavenly.)

God, but someone's bento had fried chicken in it, and the smell of it - with tartar sauce - made Goro start chewing his nails to think about anything else, including nonsense about how he was the secret son of some criminal mastermind who would kill someone as soon as look at them, and he was probably only really nice and smiley because he had magic powers that allowed him to terrorize people and - and -

 _Is this really what ordinary high school students talk about?_ he thought, and groaned. Of course. The worst they had to worry about was college exams, and part-time jobs, and parental disappointment, and -

He'd wanted to be an ordinary high school student all his life. What if it turned him into an idiot, though? What, then?

Well, not like he could ever test that out in practice. He was already too far gone.

Lunch should have ended, then, and he gotten back to subtly impressing his teachers (now that Kamoshida wasn't here Goro felt much less anxious about displaying his intellect - and he _was_ a scholar, absolutely) and acquiring a less grotesque reputation. But then a girl with short brown hair and stern expression came up to his desk and said, "Hello, Akechi-kun."

 _Kun?_ She was friendly. Goro said nothing, causing her to adjust her stance. Solid. Background in martial arts, maybe. Yes, she could probably beat him down in a minute flat. He tried not to think about how depressing that was.

"You _are_ Akechi-kun, right?" the girl said.

He put on a smile. "Guilty as charged. How may I help you, miss...?"

"Nijima Makoto, Student Council President." She bowed. "I came to welcome you. Shujin Academy should be proud of having a scholarship student of your caliber here. I've seen your marks," she said, tone crinkling a bit. "Very impressive." Sincere. A little envious? But mostly genuine.

Huh.

"I...well, thank you," Goro said. "That's very kind of you to say. Is that all?"

"No! Not at all." Nijima tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and crossed her arms. "I also wanted to add that, as Student Council President I'd like you to come to me if you have any concerns during your time here. I understand you came from quite a ways off - "

"Fuefuki," Goro said. "How did you know?"

A slight fidget. "The Principal told me."

Well then. "I'll be sure to let you know," Goro said. "As long as it doesn't interfere with my scholarship, I assume?"

Nijima looked scalded. "Please, Akechi-kun. I would never use anything a student said to me in confidence against them. Not to the Principal or a teacher or even my own sister."

Sister? Bizarre. "Right," Goro said. "Absolute confidence."

Recovered, Nijima smiled, and observing her mood oscillate, Goro had a feeling that if ever pushed to the limit she could start cracking heads. "Well, then, Nijima-san," he said, lowering his voice. "I do have a question, then, if I may."

"Yes, of course." She even leaned in a little. It was vaguely pitiful how eager she was to be useful to others, even a strange transfer student with a loaded background.

(Goro was commenting only as an observer, of course.)

Goro said, "Is it true?"

Her eyes were a reddish-brown, like his, and the way they narrowed as her brows lowered was amusing. "Is what true?"

"The rumours," he said, so low no one else could hear. "About Kamoshida."

A change came over Nijima like a creeping vine; her pose rigid as bone.

She said, enunciating as sharp as a knife, "I'm afraid I have no idea what such rumours even are."

"Me either," Goro said. "He gave me a ride to school today. I would have been late otherwise. Plus, it was raining. He was very kind to me. So I thought - I didn't want to - "

"You didn't want to get the wrong impression about him," Nijima said.

"Yes, exactly. And who else to ask but the Student Council President - "

"Right, right," she said, even as she looked pleased about him acknowledging her title - maybe as few others did. He couldn't say. "Kamoshida-sensei is the star of our school faculty. He's brought our volleyball team to Nationals several years in a row - "

"But never won?" Goro interrupted, and saw the girl's hairline inch up at that.

"No," she said. "But our other sports teams have never come close to even making it that far. It's true his methods... have been seen by some students as harsh, but everyone speaks the world of him. Especially the volleyball team."

"I see," Goro said. "Maybe I should try out then."

"You? I'm afraid that's very unlikely!" Nijima said, and was she suddenly smiling? Really? "Tryouts are _very_ competitive. Many students who are in one year don't make it the next - that's how serious Kamoshida-sensei and the school are about winning."

"You've set my mind at ease," Goro said, and Njima stood up a little straighter.

"Anything for a fellow student," she said.

"What about Takamaki, though?"

Again, the posture. "Takamaki? The second-year?"

"I heard people gossiping about her during break," Goro said, shrugging with perfect artifice. "I'm not sure what about, but it sounded vulgar."

"Yes, well..." Nijima bit her lip. "I'm afraid those rumours are similarly baseless. Takamaki-san is a model in her spare time. So..."

"She provokes jealousy," Goro said. "I get it."

"I'm glad." Nijima's smile looked a bit more weary this time. "I'm afraid the lunch bell will ring soon, so I should head back to my own class, and - "

"Wait," Goro said, and the way her shoulders set in resignation proved that, really, he was an asshole. But he'd had no one else to talk to this whole time, and...

"The rumours about me," he said. "Are they true?"

"I... don't understand what you're asking me, Akechi-kun," Nijima said. "You would know better than anyone if such gossip is warranted is not."

"Yes," Goro said. "But even if they were true, are they the kind of thing that should be spread around the school so carelessly?"

Njima only stared. "... are they, Akechi-kun?"

"No," he said. "I have a lot riding on me this year to do my best, and these rumours are - " He waved a hand about. "It's not even the end of my first day yet, and I already feel frustrated. I just want to know if... Shujin is a place where the truth matters or not. About me, or anyone who's the focus of such... one-sided attention."

Njima opened her mouth to say something.

The bell rung at the same time.

"I have to go," she said, running a hand through her perfectly coiffed hair - did she use cucumber shampoo? "But I'd be happy to continue our conversation another time. For what it's worth, I hope I was able to ease your concerns, Akechi-kun."

Goro sat in his chair, and thought about it.

"You have, Nijima-san," he said, and bowed his head. "Thank you."

She smiled, and when her lips stretched her pale face her heart rang true.

Ordinarily, that would make Goro feel worse about himself.

Not today.

* * *

 The first day ended without much other fuss and, apart from the prolonged tete-a-tete with Nijima, Goro not speaking to a single other being other than his teachers and the lady who sold buns on the first floor and told him, when catching him staring, that they sold yakisoba pan every Fridays and that, since he was new, if he came early enough she'd let him buy two when everyone else got one!

Goro stumbled upon three one-hundred yen coins just lying in a corner by the stairs and hoovered them right up when no one was looking.

(Jam bread, jam bread, jam bead...)

The school store was closed, and he fought the urge to throw a tantrum and cry. He hadn't eaten anything since his debacle of a breakfast and his stomach was about to turn itself inside-out and start cannibalizing the rest of him, starting with his useless brain since it was no good for anything practical. Only studying, and acing tests without cram school, and getting him into snotty prep schools with vapid students and teachers who were possibly also predators.

Vending machine. There were vending machines in the courtyard. A drink would stave off _some_ of his hunger - possibly corn soup, if they had it, and then he would rush to Leblanc and beg Boss for some curry. Surely the man would let him eat early if he helped out after?

Goro made his way across the courtyard and grumbled over the lack of offerings and price before picking Second Maid and cracking it open. Halfway through his refreshing drink a pair of voices drifted near in argument.

"Why would you even go in his car when you know what he's like?! Come on, Ann."

"Mind your own business! This doesn't concern you."

"Hell yeah it concerns me when my own friend gets used by Kamoshida and no one gives a rat's ass, not even the Principal, and - "

"Ohoho, we are NOT friends, Ryuji! We haven't been friends since middle school! Just admit you hate Kamoshida because of what he did to you and leave me out of it!"

"WHAT?! So you're _okay_ with what he's using to you and the team? He's going to _kill_ someone soon!"

"No, I'm not okay with it! Stop putting words in my mouth - "

The argument was getting both louder and closer, and by Goro's metric, about to involve tears in ten point five seconds.

Also, he had no way of leaving the school without confronting the voices in one way or another. They were in his way.

He finished his drink and deposited the can in the recycling bin, then rolled his neck and proceeded forward.

Then came to a halt.

The girl was Takamaki, and she was definitely crying.

The boy had hideous yellow hair and he was _definitely_ the one who'd been looking at them in the morning when Kamoshida drove them.

(It wasn't out of envy, then.)

"I'd like to make my way past, if I could," Goro said, then all it fell to pieces.

"YOU!" the boy said. "How much did you hear?"

"Nothing," Goro said, then winced. He'd definitely believe that one.

"Hey, wait! You were in the car this morning too!" The boy took a step towards Goro and then grabbed his arm. "You were there! He did something perverted to Ann, right? Did he say something to you?"

"Nothing of the sort happened," Goro said, frozen. "Also, get your hand off of me."

"Oh my god, Ryuji, just stop!" Takamaki wiped at her tears angrily with her hoodie. "Can't you see you're just making everything worse? Just drop it, will you? Kamoshida isn't going anywhere no matter how much you fight him, alright? All you're doing is making it worse for me and Shiho and everyone else. So just... stop..."

"I'm trying to help," Ryuji croaked. "Ann, wait - "

She took off. The boy deflated, sinking to his knees.

"Fuck," he muttered. "I'm helping. I mean, I _want_ to help. Why won't anyone else..."

"Hand off, please," Goro said.

Ryuji shot him a nasty look and flung his hand away. "Whatever, asshole. Ain't like someone like you cares anyway. I heard about you already, you know?"

"Oh, really?" Goro said. "What have you heard about me?"

He expected antagonism and contempt, was fully prepared to spit it back out. But Ryuji just shrugged and rubbed his temples.

"Fuck if I know," he muttered. "The same bullshit they probably spew about me too. I used to be part of the in crowd. The track team star. Then Kamoshida shows up with his volleyball crap and SUDDENLY - " He cut himself off. "Why am I even saying this? Not like you give a shit about it."

If Goro was a sane man, he shouldn't. But he had always been curious, if only because knowledge was power, even if only a thimbleful. "He did something to you," he said, and Ryuji slumped down further.

"Bastard broke my leg last year and got me fired from the team," the boy said. "Now he beats the crap out of the volleyball team and does fucked-up shit to Ann and her friend Suzui." He let out a scream. "FUCK! Why doesn't anyone give a shit! Not the Principal, not the teachers, _anyone_ \-  "

"I spoke to Nijima Makoto today," Goro said. "She said the rumours were baseless."

"Fuck her," Ryuji snarled. "Little Miss Student Council President narcs to the Principal every chance she gets. She's his pawn and nothing else. Even if she was on our side there's nothing she could do to help us."

Neither could Goro, in truth. "I suppose there's a reason you haven't sent a tip to the police," he said.

"With no one to back me up?" Ryuji scowled.

"Unsubstantiated," Goro said. The word felt good on his tongue. Reminded him of the days when he was slow to study because school was no future and life outside the institution an impossible dream. When all he did was read aged translations of Lupin and Holmes and Poirot and mimic their every word. Even then, he was a perfect imitation.

(He dreamt of Shirogane every night for six months straight. He was her mysterious and conveniently related little brother; she took him in; gave him her name, and his very own cap and suit. They solved crimes together and adopted a dog - Shiba Inu - that protected Goro when he had night terrors, and was a snack-stealing rascal otherwise. A fantasy - a farce - a farce - )

"Bullshit," Ryuji said. "That's what they'd say to me. What everyone says. Even Ann."

Unbelievably, Goro found himself saying, "She hasn't reached her breaking point yet."

"I did," Ryuji said. "A long time ago. So why am I still here?" He looked crestfallen. "Why am I the one that's alone?"

* * *

 Strange and stranger, but he was beginning to acquire a taste for this foul-mouthed brat and his sense of justice.

Justice. Was that the word?

Yes. It yearned and cried out and howled like a mad cat in heat. It demanded attention and clawed blood to get it. It rung out to roll heads, to break the chains of oppression, to overthrow the ones in power. Goro knew it acutely.

It was the justice of Ogawa-sensei, appointed by the government to become the new manager of Fuefuki Boys' Home fresh out of school. She was young and fresh-faced and smelled of expensive lily perfume. Institutions chewed up well-meaning and wide-eyed bureaucrats like her and either polluted them into cynical chain-smoking addicts who stumbled headfirst into an early grave or spat them out into hurried domestication and two children, 4LDKs and forty years of bentomaking. She had no chance.

Neither did Goro.

_You're a smart boy, Goro, so why do you tear up those beautiful drawings you make all the time? I wanted to see your newest one, but it was gone before I even had the chance._

_I don't know,_ he would say in his monotone. Twelve and bitter and so, so scared of dying before he was twenty. _I don't care._

_Is it because you have nowhere safe to keep them otherwise? Is that it?_

_No! It's because I hate looking at them afterward. They're so ugly._

_All of them? Even the ones with you?_

_They're the worst! I hate them the most because they keep reminding me of things that aren't allowed to exist._

_Like what, Goro?_

Like him.

Like a lot of things.

"You're not alone," Goro said.

What?

"What?" said Ryuji.

"I heard everything. And I believe you."

What are you doing. _Why_ are you doing this?

"Let me help you," Goro said. "We'll bring Kamoshida to justice and save your friends' hides." He smiled. "And both of ours, if I'm being perfectly honest. His impression of me has been so-so thus far."

"Uh, okay - " Mouth fully agape. "Great! But... why are you helping me, exactly?"

_What about your plan, Goro?_

_You have only one chance._

_You know this._

_So why..._

Why?

"I suppose," Goro said, "I just really hate authority figures who abuse their power to hurt people who can't fight back. You could say it makes me sick to my stomach."

"Uh, yeah," Ryuji croaked. "Yeah. Me too."

* * *

 ("By the way, I never got your name."

"Nor I yours. I'm Akechi Goro. A third year."

"I'm Sakamoto. Second year. Though if we're doing this, you might as well call me Ryuji. Can I call you Goro?"

"No."

"Really? Why not, man?"

...

"Come on, the silent treatment? At least exchange numbers with me so we can get a chat going or something."

"Oh. I... don't actually have a phone."

"A guy your age with no phone? Ugh, where are you from, the boonies?"

"I'm _poor_ , Sakamoto. And here."

"A hundred yen? What for?"

"A drink. Have it on me.")

* * *

 That night Goro fell into a deep sleep, and awoke in a dark room with chains on his feet and iron bars in front of him.

"Rise to your feet, inmate," the child on the left intoned, her unhooded eye as piercing and yellow as fear itself.

"Show our master some respect!" the child on the right spat out, flinging her rod out like a whip against the bars of Goro's cell. His ears ringing from the pain until they nearly bled.

"Trickster," intoned the hook-nosed man with a deep voice and enigmatic smile. "Welcome to my Velvet Room. This... is the start of your rehabilitation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RANDOM THOUGHTS:
> 
> \- I've been thinking about writing a P5 fic for a while, but was never particularly inspired since well, being an Akechi fan means trying not to get butthurt when Atlus leaves him out of everything (he's not even in the end credits as one of the Thieves? Really you fuckers???) and also a billion people have written enough superb redemption/Goro-is-a-real-boy fics that I feel no desire to stick my foot into that whole subgenre lol. I'm also not confident yet writing a non-PT AU. This is similar enough to the game's outline that I don't have to think very hard about writing lol but different enough to keep things interesting.
> 
> \- Our dearest Goroboy has at this point in his life 5 Knowledge, 3 Charm, 2 Guts, 1.5 Kindness... and -500 Proficiency. I'm sorry but that's just how it is.
> 
> \- When I first started writing this (on April 20 lol) I was afraid Goro would come off too meek and timid in a world where Yaldaboath didn't get his dirty paws on him right away, but the scene where he just needles Makoto because he's hungry and ticked off put all that to rest. Further chapters will hopefully prove that even a trickster good boy Akechi is still a total shitstirrer when it counts.
> 
> \- I didn't have an AO3 account when I began writing this, and angrily refreshed the Invitation page for about a week every day as I continued to write. I've already written 7 more chapters with 40k words in between them, and since I can already tell they'll be lightly edited because I am not having fun using the post editor, they should all be up in the next few days (and then the waiting game starts).
> 
> \- Finally... I didn't start this fic as a Kitaake shipper but I've only just finished writing the Kaneshiro arc and I am already huffing the fumes in that paint can. They would seriously make a beautiful pair. Akira had better watch out!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please enjoy the first of many Goros to come!
> 
> (Comment and kudos... please. My family is dying.)


	2. Uncover Kamoshida's abuses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Goro wonders what the hell he's gotten into, and makes friends and Personas along the way.

**2\. Uncover Kamoshida's abuses**

As a partner-in-crime, Sakamoto's passion was most welcome.

His sense of tact, however...

As a battered Mishima Yuuki stammered that he knew nothing and wasn't going to tell them anything, then turned tail and ran, Goro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He was beginning to regret promising Sakamoto he'd help, and for good reason: being seen with the delinquent, even if only after school, wasn't good for his already ailing reputation. The boy was _not_ inconspicuous, lurking on the floor outside Goro's classroom despite being a second-year, grabbing him by the arm every time the bell rang and whisking him off to a corner for "strategizing"...

At least he wasn't yelling anymore. Even if every time a member of the volleyball team scattered rather than talk to them he'd kick the wall and grumble. Goro just rubbed the back of his neck and thought _I need to finish this quickly and go back to normal as soon as I can. No more distractions._

* * *

 In the sleepy depths of the Velvet Room, the creature known as Igor laced his spidery hands together and murmured, "Trickster... you lack something."

Goro's fingers furled around the bars of his cell. "Lack?" he echoed.

He was used to dreams of this nature, continuations of a comforting story night after night. It was all he used to look forward to, once. This confining space with its blue tones and dark shadows even had Shirogane's colouring.

He almost chuckled at the thought of her in such a place. What would she even think of it?

Of _him_ , for once wishing she would rescue him from a prison like this?

"Our master wishes to bestow a gift upon you," said the one-eyed Justine in her soft serenade. "But you lack the vehicle to welcome it."

"Get a phone, inmate!" Caroline snapped.

"A phone?" Goro said. This again? The twins had told him the same the night before, and he dismissed it when he woke up as the hodgepodge nature of dreaming itself.

"Indeed," Igor said. "It is necessary for your... rehabilitation."

"I'm sorry." Goro wet his lips. "I don't understand. How is a _phone_ going to help me?"

"It will allow you to access the Metaverse Navigator App," Igor said, and the word _app_ coming out of his mouth made Goro's eyes bulge in ridicule. What was going on, really?

"The Metaverse App will let you traverse between realities," Justine said, a clipboard pressed to her chest.

"With it you'll be able to see people's _true_ natures and their distorted desires," Caroline added - and then, presumably because it didn't sound hostile enough: " _If_ you can even handle it, inmate!"

"Come back to us when you are ready," Igor said in his slow and methodical voice. "And we will resume this conversation..."

* * *

"A phone?" Boss said. "You mean you don't have one already?"

Goro shrugged as the man poured him a cup of coffee, alongside a simple breakfast of buttered toast, two fried eggs, and a small tomato and lettuce salad. "Such things were luxuries back at the institution," he said, and ladled in a full spoonful of sugar and a splash of cream into his coffee, which made Boss visibly sigh.

"I suppose you wouldn't be happy with some old thing that only punches in numbers, would you," the man grumbled.

Metaverse _App_ , Igor had said. "No, sir," Goro said. "But I'd be happy to pay you back once I get a job."

"Once," Boss snorted. "You've still got a curfew, remember."

... he did. Especially since Sakamoto had asked him to go out for ramen yesterday and looked incredulous when Goro told him he'd get in trouble if he did. Tempting as the thought of a bowl of shoyu ramen was, with sweet globs of fat from the pork slices dripping down onto the broth was...

Thank God Goro remembered to pack his lunches nowadays.

"Well, fine, I guess." Boss took off his apron and draped it over the back of his chair before he sat down for his own meal. "Don't use it to get in trouble though, or I'm taking it right back."

"Thank you," Goro said, and smiled.

"Don't mention it."

Goro washed the dishes when breakfast was done while Boss lit up a cigarette and took out his phone, thankfully walking out onto the house's small patio to smoke. "Hey, Futaba? I've got a favour to ask. I don't know much about phones, so..."

* * *

Another day of school came and went with little in the way of resolution. Sakamoto caught Takamaki in the courtyard after school with a black-haired girl with bandages on her face and compression socks on - presumably Shiho - and started causing a scene when the man of the hour showed up to make it all worse.

"Ah, Sakamoto," Kamoshida said. "I was wondering what the hollering was about."

Goro pressed his lips. A diplomat Sakamoto was not.

And yet, he was the one letting the boy take charge of this so-called investigation. So who was the bigger idiot?

Kamoshida's gaze slid to him like grease on a hot pan. "Akechi. I'm disappointed. With all that's going around you, I thought you'd know better than to associate with someone like him."

"Someone like me, huh?" Sakamoto snarled.

"Actually, sir, you've got the wrong idea," Goro said, bright as a bee.

"What?" Sakamoto said, nostrils flaring in betrayal already.

"I'm tutoring him after school," Goro said. "Sakamoto asked me to help him improve his grades."

"And that's why you two run around the hallways harassing members of my team." Kamoshida crossed his arms. "Well, Takamaki? Is it true?"

"Huh?" The girl's eyes widened. She had her arm locked tight around Shiho's in a protective stance. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Akechi - senpai," she corrected herself in a hurry, "is supposed to be like, really smart, right? I've seen them in the library too. Once or twice."

Why she was defending their lie Goro didn't know, but he'd gladly take an ally if necessary. "There you go, sir," he said in as pleasant a tone as he could muster.

"Keep your studying to the library, then," Kamoshida said finally. "Suzui, go to my office."

"Huh?" The black-haired girl spoke for the first time. "But... we don't have practice today." Drawing further into herself with every word.

"It's not about practice. Mishima should have gotten you by now - " Kamoshida narrowed his eyes. "Well?"

Shiho - Suzui - deflated. "Yes, sensei.”

"Actually," Goro said. "We all have a study session planned today, don't we?' Smile. "Takamaki-san, your grades aren't that good either, right?"

"Well... yeah," Takamaki said. "But how is that... OH!" Her face transformed. "That's right! How could I forget, tee hee!" Oh God.  "Come on, Shiho. Let's study and stuff!"

"See ya, coach!" Sakamoto said with a nasty grin, and the four of them skedaddled before Kamoshida could get in another word.

* * *

Right outside the school gates, Takamaki's peppy smile dissolved.

Suzui looked like she wanted to cry.

Sakamoto said, "What the _hell_ does he want you in his office for? And why use Mishima as a lapdog?"

"Ryuji, just..." Takamaki groaned. "Just let it go, alright?" Suzui was crouched to the ground and hugging herself. Takamaki leaned down and rubbed her shoulder.

She looked worn out.

Sakamoto gave Goro a push. "Come on, say something," he hissed.

Oh. Right. Goro rubbed his nose. "I... know a place where we can talk in private," he said. "Do any of you like coffee?"

* * *

"Welcome to Leblanc - oh." Boss stared as the four of them entered the cafe. "Kid, you bring a funeral procession in here?"

"Good afternoon, Boss," Goro said. ("Boss?" Sakamoto said behind him.) "I was wondering if my... friends and I could have a booth and some coffee. I'll work it off?"

"You've already got a five-figure tab on me," Boss warned, but took out four porcelain mugs. "Go on. Take a seat. Not like anyone else is coming around today."

Some hot coffee and Boss' requisite smoking break later, Suzui dabbed at her eyes with a damp napkin and said, "... thank you. It was nice of you to let us come here."

"You don't look too happy to say that though," Goro said. And because Sakamoto had a Habit, he put his hand on the boy's forearm and just shook his head.

Tact, my friend. Tact.

Sakamoto rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut.

"No," Suzui said in her quiet voice. "I guess I'm not."

Her hand was on the table. Takamaki squeezed it, and it made Suzui smile. Goro wondered how it felt to touch someone like that, even only as a friend.

Did it feel warm? It must.

Did it feel good? Why else would someone do it?

Did it make them feel wanted?

He wanted to know, terribly.

He kept his thoughts to himself, and listened to Suzui.

"Volleyball is all I have," she said, worming at her lip. "Nationals is coming up soon, and if all goes well I'll be on the starting lineup. But right now..." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I don't know if I can. If I deserve it."

"Of course you do, Shiho!" Takamaki said. "You're on the team because everyone recognizes how good you are. And we're all proud of you."

"Thank you, Ann," Suzui whispered. "I wonder why it doesn't make me feel any better, though."

"If I may," Goro said. "We could help you with that."

"Finally," Sakamoto muttered beside him.

Takamaki started. "Look, senpai," she said. "I know what you're doing with Ryuji, and I appreciate it, but..." She groaned. "Kamoshida used to be an Olympic medallist, you know? The school's sports teams were nothing before him - "

"They're _still_ nothing," Sakamoto said, fists clenched in his lap. "The track team doesn't even exist anymore."

"And whose fault was that, Ryuji?" Takamaki said coldly.

Goro expected him to blow up again, but the boy just sank into his seat. "If he'd said that shit about your mom you'd have done the same," he said in a low voice.

"... sorry," Takamaki said.

"Whatever." Sakamoto jammed his hands into his pockets and got up. "Look, I'm gonna go for a walk. See ya later."

"Sakamoto - " Goro started, but the boy just grabbed his bag and left.

Touchy.

"Takamaki-san," he said. "Suzui-san. I... know this has been hard on you. Both the rumours about Kamoshida and... whatever Sakamoto and I have doing in our childish attempt to help you." He crooked his mouth in a self-deprecating smile. "We haven't been helping at all, have we?"

"No," Takamaki said. "Not really."

Ah. Maybe it was better they stop now, before any real damage was done.

"But it is nice," she admitted. "At least you care about us, you know? Ryuji..." She groaned. "I was really angry at him the other day. He just kept barging in and telling me to confess about Kamoshida and bring him to justice. But what does that even mean? Sensei's the school favourite, and I'm..."

"You have a reputation," Goro said.

"Yeah." She looked miserable. "My parents live abroad. If I accused Kamoshida and had no proof, then I could get expelled and they'd have to come back and get me and - " She took in a deep breath.

"It's okay, Ann," Suzui said, and touched her shoulder.

"Thanks, Shiho."

A smile passed between them. Small as it was, it was like a secret promise.

Jealousy forced itself upward Goro's throat and he bit it back down. It wasn't about him.

"It feels like..." Suzui offered, tentative as her bandaged fingers laced together on the tabletop. "Everything we could do to help each other will just cause trouble for others. Even if we're trying to help."

"If I accuse Kamoshida of hurting the volleyball team, then Shiho'll get kicked off," Takamaki said.

"... yeah." The girl swallowed. "And if I back you up then he'll punish the whole team because of me. I can't put them all in jeopardy just for my sake."

“I hate it,” Takamaki moaned.

"Why," Suzui said. "Why is it so much harder to help people than hurt them?"

Why indeed.

"It's funny," Goro said, and the two girls stared at him.

"What is?"

"No, no, just - " He shrugged. "You're right, Suzui. It's much harder to help than hurt. It takes hundreds of people to construct a building, but only a single person with a match to burn it all down. Why is that? Is it just human nature? Are we all just naturally awful and we have to fight our worst tendencies to do any good in the world?"

Silence, and only the sound of the clock ticking to prove they were all still breathing.

"I hope not," Takamaki said. "I'd never want to live somewhere so heartless."

"Me either," Suzui whispered.

"I'm not sure any of us get to make that choice," Goro said.

But he was making it worse now, and alienating them.

"I'm sorry," he said, when neither of them responded. "It's getting late. I don't think Sakamoto's coming back any time soon, so..."

"It's okay," Takamaki said. "We'll be fine."

"See you tomorrow, then," Goro said.

"See you," Suzui echoed. Takamaki helped her get up, and supported her as they walked out. Suzui slumped to her side like a dead man, Takamaki standing tall while holding both their school bags.

Goro looked away. It seemed wrong to stare.

* * *

The bell rung.

Goro looked up from his textbook. "Sakamoto?"

"Saka-WHO?" said a very high-pitched and girlish voice coming out of a short and girlish figure in a blue and black school uniform. Not Shujin.

"... my apologies." Goro put his book down. Boss should really be back from his break now. "I thought you were someone else."

"So did I! Where's Sojiro?" The girl traipsed in. She had long orange hair, and black-rimmed glasses, and a teethy smile that was going to give Goro a headache soon.

"Smoking, I think," he said.

"Oh. I'll wait, then."

Much to his horror, she didn't simply sit down by the counter or take one of the booths, but sidled over into the staff area and began poking about the various coffee-making machines.

"Excuse me?" Goro said. "I'm sorry, but you really shouldn't be back there - "

"You gonna narc on me, nerd?" the girl said, giving Goro a thorough, suspicious glance. "Wait. You're not just some rando customer, are you? You're the scholarship guy Sojiro took in!"

"Yes," Goro said icily. "And you are - "

The bell rung again.

"Futaba! What are you - " Boss saw the girl attempting to unscrew a glass jar of coffee and rubbed his temples. "Drop that and you're not getting anything for your next birthday."

"Not fair, Sojiro!" the girl squeaked, though she did put the jar on safe ground - the counter. "I was just feeling peckish. And Mom never - "

"Mom never gives you anything nice, yes." Boss shook his head. "At least let a man run a business, will ya?"

"Sure," Futaba said. "If you let me know who that narc is over there."

"Narc?"

"Akechi Goro," Goro said. "Scholarship third-year at Shujin Academy, and _not_ someone who goes digging around other people's businesses at will."

Boss coughed. "Kid, you have no idea. Futaba, this is Akechi. I'm taking him on for a year. He's the one I asked you to get a phone for."

"Oh!" said Futaba. "Well, why didn't you just say so." She unzipped her school bag and pulled out all sorts of junk - used candy wrappers, various wires and batteries, a laptop, crumpled notebooks and a Featherman figure of all things - before triumphantly taking out a white cardboard case and holding it up to the light. "Ta da! I got it real cheap online and got rid of the bloatware for you. Even added some of my fave programs."

She then tossed it at Goro, who registered the box coming at his face just in time and grabbed it with both hands.

"Thank you," he said, tongue between his teeth to prevent himself from saying anything else.

"I asked you to get it this morning," Boss said. "How did you get it so fast?"

"Sojiro," Futaba said, coming back to the customer's side of the cafe and sitting on a stool. "It's like you don't even know me." She waggled her brows.

"And this," Boss said wearily. "Is Isshiki Futaba. Daughter of a friend of mine."

"Friends by _daylight_ , maybe - "

"Futaba!"

"What?" she drawled. "Anyway, I’m a super tech specialist and hacker and programmer. I'm also fifteen and I go to Kosei High! Nice to meet you, Akechi!"

"The feeling is mutual," Goro said.

(It was not.)

* * *

Boss gave up on all pretense of more customers and flipped the sign to CLOSED an hour early. "Have some curry before you go," he told Futaba, and the girl's eyes sparkled and she slammed her hands down on the counter.

"That's what I came for!"

While they waited for the curry to cook she wouldn't let Goro go back to studying either, intent on showing him how she'd modified his phone to be better than the newest on the market: faster, better, and sexier in every way. Goro didn't know half of what she was showing him, but praise in the way of "I see" and "That's very smart of you" went a long way. She was a chatterbox, and even with curry in her mouth managed to talk nonstop without the food getting in her way. A speck of pickled red ginger did land on Goro's cheek more than once, though.

She left an hour later with three containers of curry in a bag for her and her mother, an insistence that Goro call her Futaba since the title of Isshiki-san was reserved for her mom and a firmly worded, "It gives me the creeps when you're so formal like that! Live a little, nerd!" Boss accompanied her to the station, and Goro cleaned up his books and washed the dishes in the sink by hand. The man had yet to teach him anything else about Leblanc yet, and he doubted he'd get such an exasperated but fond reaction if _he_ started messing with the coffee jars.

He was wiping them dry when Boss returned. "Oh! Hard at work, I see," he said.

Goro smiled. "Like I said. I owe you a debt."

"Sure." The man sat down on a stool. "You don't have to be so serious about it though. You've got the whole school year to think about first."

"I know," Goro said. "But I feel better the sooner I get it over with."

"Sure," Boss muttered. "Jumpy, aren't you." He inspected his nails. "You going to tell me about what happened with your friends earlier?"

"Oh, high school drama.” The lie flowed out easily. "You know how it is."

"Somehow I doubt kids like you get involved in _drama_ ," Boss retorted. "You going to tell me the truth or what?"

Goro stilled. "I'm not sure if it's important."

"Let me be the judge of that."

And against Goro's own judgment, he told him.

A conversation later, Boss shook his head. "Kid, this is way out of your pay grade."

"I know," Goro said. God, if he was like Shirogane or even the hot new craze Kurusu and his supposed Third Eye, then this would be a cakewalk. "But I promised I'd help."

"And a promise is a promise, right?" Boss got up. "You know what you sound like, don't you?"

"Like what?" Goro said, hands still, and behind his back.

"A hero," Boss said, and Goro's heart swelled before the man added, "No - that's not a damn compliment."

"Oh."

"Look," Boss said. "I know you mean well. You wouldn't be here if you didn't. Kids where you're from don't make it to fancy prep schools on scholarships and get second chances. They just don't."

Second chances? Goro crooked a smile. "Before all this," he said. "I never even had a first."

"Aw, hell." Boss rubbed his eyes. "Then you know what's at stake, yeah? Get on the school's bad side, screw up _once_ and you're out of here and back to where you grew up. You don't want to risk your future on what's hearsay. And _yeah_ , I know you believe your friends and if I was in your place I would too. But what can you do? People won't tell you anything because they're too scared to lose what they already have. You can't go to the police because you have no proof, the school won't listen to you, and it's not like that teacher's going to suddenly confess his crimes and give in because you confronted him. That's just how people are, kid."

"Should I stop, then?" Goro said.

"What?" 

He shrugged. "I've been having similar thoughts, to tell the truth. We haven't made any progress. Sakamoto cares, but he doesn't have the sense to back it up. Takamaki and Suzui are both too afraid of what'll happen to each other to help us, and I'm just tangentially involved to begin with. If I drop this case then Kamoshida will leave me alone, and I can proceed the rest of my school year in peace. So, as an adult and my guardian, can you tell me if I should stop?"

A silence. The clock, ticking. A drip of water - he must not have screwed the tap tight enough.

Boss' haggard breathing.

"I didn't say _that_ , kid," he said finally.

"What should I do, then," Goro asked, and to that Boss had no answer.

* * *

 That night an app appeared on his phone, and Akechi Goro dreamed.

* * *

("Akechi Goro."

Target not found.

"Sakamoto Ryuji."

Target not found.

"Sakura Sojiro."

Target not found.

"Takamaki Ann."

Target not found.

"Kamoshida Suguru."

Target found.

Step one, complete. He let out a breath and laughed - barely.)

* * *

"Mishima-kun looked horrible earlier," Takamaki admitted. "I'm... kind of worried."

"He was supposed to send me to Sensei's office yesterday," Suzui said, rubbing her arms. Shivering. "What if..."

"You don't think Kamoshida took it out on him, do you?"

"I don't know." Suzui wiped at her eyes. "We... have practice today. What should I do, Ann?"

"Go home," Goro said.

"But then she'll definitely be cut from the team!" Takamaki looked frustrated.

"Go home," he repeated. "Both of you. I'll figure something out."

"What are you going to do?" Takamaki said.

Honestly? He had no idea. But he had dreamed of the Velvet Room again, and Igor smiled his strange smile and murmured, "Well then, trickster. Shall we?"

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Goro said, "Sakamoto, how do you think Kamoshida views Shujin Academy?" and the Metaverse rippled into reality.

* * *

A castle.

A king.

Sakamoto looking around in bewilderment and going, "And how are _you_ so calm about this?! Is this even school or are we dreaming?"

"The latter, probably," Goro said. He heard a telltale clinking noise and grabbed Sakamoto's collar, yanking him back into the shadows.

This castle... dozen cavernous floors of it or so, was surrounded by armoured guards who patrolled constantly. Truth be told Goro had no idea how they hadn't been caught yet, but while the guards were fastidious they had severe blind spots regarding corners. Something about the way they moved made him unsure if they were human or if something stranger lurked beneath their metal garb.

He didn't want to find out for himself. He and Sakamoto were soft and fleshy under their uniforms. Goro didn't even have the excuse of being a former runner to help him if he was caught.

They'd been sneaking through what appeared to be the prison section of the castle and gawking at prisoners who seemed to be... manifestations of the volleyball team? Sakamoto recognized them, though the bizarre ways they spoke in hysteria made Goro's stomach churn. There was something shameless about their honesty, unpleasant and vulgar and _raw_.

_You should just give up, like us._

_Volleyball's all I have. Why does it matter if Kamoshida hits me when I screw up? With him we're going to win!_

_It's so hard... but at least I have a place here._

_It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter -_

_Suzui should be grateful. At least he acknowledges her!_

_It'll be over when I get to college, right? I can hold on for a little longer..._

_Volleyball! Volleyball! Volleyball!_

"Dude, are you okay?" Sakamoto said, when Goro stopped and bent over, hand clamped over his mouth.

"I'm fine," he gasped. "I just... headache."

"I know. This place makes me sick. It's like they're completely brainwashed."

Goro screwed his eyes shut, then took in long breaths and rose back up. "They've been institutionalized," he said, and walked on.

_Losers like Mishima should be glad they're even allowed on the team._

_He said he'll give me a letter of recommendation if I help him. I'll help him, I swear..._

_I told my dad what happened and he said I just needed to toughen up. Is it that easy?_

_Hey! You two! Are you human? Help me!_

_Volleyball! Volleyball! Volleyball -_

"HEY! Are you listening? Help me escape here!"

They stopped.

And stared.

"Dude," Sakamoto said. "That is a straight up cartoon talking cat."

"I'm not a _cat_ ," the cat hissed. "I'm a human, like you!"

"We're busy," Goro said. "Sorry."

"STOP!" it howled as they hurried past. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"Nope, bye!" Sakamoto said, and kept walking.

Goro stopped. Sighed.

"Wait."

"Dude. Cat. Talking."

"The only one so far who isn't moping or armed to kill," Goro said. "Let's get information out of it, if nothing else."

"... fine."

The cat narrowed its eyes as they came back. "So you're helping me after all?"

"We didn't say that," Sakamoto muttered.

Goro cleared his throat. "So... what are you, exactly?"

"I'm a _human_ ," the cat insisted. "I just... lost my human form! I must have done some bad things in the past to become like this, and now I'm trying to turn back." Its head was... disproportionately large compared to its body. How did it even stand up?

"Right," Goro said. "Do you know what this place is?"

"It's Kamoshida's Palace, of course."

Goro and Sakamoto looked at each other.

"Palace?"

"I suppose that makes sense," Goro said. "It being a castle and all."

"No, it's _not_ because it's a castle - " The cat sighed. "You have no idea about any of this, do you?"

"We're doing our best, okay?" 

"Your _best_ in this place will only get you killed. Unless you help me escape and turn me back into a human - "

"Oh no," Goro said. "Even if we wanted to, I have no idea how something like that is even possible."

"It _is_. Will you help me escape at the very least?"

"That depends. Are you willing to help _us_?" Goro raised a brow. "Since we know nothing about this Palace, and all."

"That's a deal," the cat said.

"Thank you, then. My name is Akechi."

"I'm Morgana," the cat said. "And I'll prove to you both that I'm human."

"Uh," Sakamoto said. "This is great and all, but there are literally guards coming our way, so can we resolve this and get the hell out of here?!"

As it turns out... yes, they could.

* * *

 Get imprisoned, that is.

"Thanks for nothing, guys," the cat Morgana said mournfully as Goro and Sakamoto were imprisoned in the cell across.

Goro got manhandled and kicked in the stomach, and whether these guards were human or not, they packed a miserable punch indeed, and he lay semi-fetal on the floor and trying not to vomit up the rest of his lunch.

Sakamoto was being beaten to a pulp because he literally could not keep his lips sealed and mouthed off to the disturbingly robed yellow-eyed and crowned version of Kamoshida one time too many.

So much for Igor. What exactly had bringing the Metaverse App into his life done but come to getting him actually killed?

"Look at you," Kamoshida crooned at Sakamoto. "Now you're really where you belong, Sakamoto - about to die in a dark hole where no one cares about you."

"That's not true," Sakamoto wheezed. "People care. My mom cares..."

Great. He was crying now. Goro was...

Ribs sore. Wrists bruised. His stomach... painful. But the guards weren't paying attention to him, and the cell door was open.

He welled all his strength into his legs and staggered back up. He could make a break for it.

He could escape, and leave Sakamoto behind.

_Really? Is that how a hero behaves?_

_No such thing as heroes,_ Goro thought. Boss was right. He had just been trying to warn him.

"Your mother!" Kamoshida sneered. "You nearly drove her into an early grave because of the stunt you pulled last year! You _broke her heart_ , Sakamoto."

"Shut up!" Sakamoto howled. "Shut UP, Kamoshida! You don't know anything about me!"

 _Look at this situation and tell me this is a fight I can win_ , Goro thought.

_Winning? Is that all that matters in life?_

_It's the only thing people care about._

_Is it what_ you _care about?_

_No one will acknowledge me otherwise._

"Ah, Sakamoto. Playing with you has been fun, but I admit, it loses its luster fast. Now, shall we end it?"

He was already out of the cell. He could still run.

 _You're just the same then,_ the voice whispered. Disappointed. _All your life you wanted someone to protect you, and when you have the chance to protect someone else, you -_

"Shut up," Goro whispered. "You have no idea hard this is."

He was weak. He could barely even stand right now.

 _But my dear friend_ , the voice murmured. _Did you think heroism would be easy?_

It should be. His whole life was unbearable otherwise.

_Did you think you could have it all while sacrificing none of yourself?_

Have it all? He'd never had a single thing to himself. He wanted to be selfish for once.

_Did you receive this second chance only to hoard its gift all for your own desires?_

"My desire," Goro gasped, "is to live for _me_ and no one else."

_Do you believe it, truly in your heart?_

Yes. Yes, gods _yes_ -

_Then face your friend and watch him perish._

He turned to Sakamoto, and saw him stare back with tears streaming down his bloodied face.

_Help me._

Goro closed his eyes.

"Now, then! Guards, kill him!"

* * *

" _Enough_ ," said Akechi Goro, and then his whole body burst asunder.

* * *

_To live a life for oneself and oneself alone is a small and petty dream._

_Succumb to such desires and you affirm only the worst of what people have always believed about you._

_Are you a breaker of chains, or a worshipper of despair?_

_Do you rail against injustice, or swallow it whole and let it consume you?_

_Show me, Akechi Goro... show me what mettle you're_ truly _made of!_

_Show me your justice!_

* * *

"What..." Kamoshida stepped back in fear. "What _are_ you..."

* * *

_I am thou, and thou art I..._

* * *

"Pierce the veil of injustice," he spoke, and knew his heart was true. "And attack! _ROBIN HOOD!_ "

* * *

The guards perished.

Kamoshida fled.

"What..." Sakamoto managed. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Goro smiled. "Like it?"

"Like it? Dude!" The boy rubbed his throat feverishly. Bruise marks, Goro thought, and was prickled with guilt. "You kicked their asses and saved me! Plus, your _getup_ \- "

"It's flashy," Goro said. "But somehow..."

"It fits," Sakamoto said. "Just don't poke my eyes out with that thing, alright?"

Oh, yes. Apart from the surreal red-white-gold marching band-esque outfit Goro had on now, he was also wearing a red mask with a sharply prolonged nose a la Pinocchio... or Igor, possibly. Something to think about later.

"I wonder if _I'll_ get something like that here."

"I'm not sure if you should. Tearing that mask off was possibly the worst pain I've felt in my life."

"Oh. Well... you looked really cool when you did it though?"

"Thanks," Goro said wryly.

"Uh, EXCUSE ME?" Morgana hollered from across the room. "Did you two forget I existed or what?"

"Oh... that guy," Sakamoto said. "Yeah, what do you want?" Despite his brash tone, he walked over to Morgana's cell with a limp.

"That feat..." The cat stared at Goro. "You have a Persona!"

"A what now?" Sakamoto said.

Morgana rolled its eyes. "A _Persona_. I have one too. It's the manifestation of your true desires given power!"

"My true desires?" Goro said.

Was his true desire not to save himself after all, but Sakamoto?

Huh.

"If you don't even know _that_ much, then you won't stand a chance the next time Kamoshida comes for you," Morgana said. "So... _please_ help me escape, and I'll share all my knowledge about the Metaverse with you! We could even take him down together!"

"Very well," Goro said. "Morgana."

The cat preened in relief. "Akechi."

"... Ryuji," said Sakamoto.

* * *

As it turned out, Morgana _did_ have a Persona, and while it was comical to watch this bobble-headed cat knife Shadows (what the guards were actually made of) and blow them away with the Persona called Zorro, he was far more adept at fighting than Goro... and his skills were useful outside of battle too. The healing skill called Dia somehow fixed most of Sakamoto and Goro's injuries, the bruises melting away from their skin in some instances. It was pure magic, and if Goro wasn't so fatigued he would have been all over its mind boggling potential.

Yet Morgana was soon tapped out, and when they reached their first safe room, it was time to call it quits.

* * *

 

And then they were in Shujin again.

Robin Hood? Goro thought, and heard gentle laughter echoing in his mind.

_Stay the course, young one._

Right.

"That..." Sakamoto lurched against the wall. "That wasn't a dream, was it?"

"Unless we had a mutual hallucination, I doubt it," Goro said. "Also... what should we do with all this?"

He was referring to, of course, their bags and pockets full of cash and strange trinkets they'd accumulated during the Palace.

"We could sell it," Sakamoto said. "Though I have no idea who'd take this kind of thing."

"I'm not sure either. At least the money will be useful."

Possibly more than everything else he'd discovered today. Money from fighting Shadows?

Oh, _yes_.

"Here." Sakamoto started digging out stuff and handing it over. "You did all the fighting anyway. Keep it."

"All of it?"

"Yeah, man! Plus, you said you're poor, right? Get yourself something nice."

"Buy something for me too," Morgana squeaked. "Like sushi!"

"Like su - what?" Sakamoto spluttered. "You? You're still here?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Morgana swished his tail, now officially a cat in the real world, but with the same blue-black fur. Oh, and he was somehow still able to communicate with them. "I left Kamoshida's Palace too, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but somehow I thought you'd just disappear..."

"Well, I'm _not_ disappearing. I'm going to get my human body back, and the two of you are going to help me. And buy me sushi."

"Sorry. I'm all out." Sakamoto emptied his pockets for show. "My mom's gonna freak if I get home too late, so I gotta jet anyway. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Goro said, and looked down to an expectant Morgana.

"I'd like some fatty tuna, please," the cat said, and it went downhill from there.

* * *

"You're late," Boss said, when he got home that night. Leblanc already closed when he got there.

Goro's stomach was uncomfortably full of good sushi, and he still had twenty thousand yen in his wallet and a sleepy cat nestled on top of a heap of knick knacks in his school bag. "... sorry," he said finally. "I was studying at school and lost track of the time."

"Is that why you have a bruise on your jaw," Boss said.

"Yes," Goro said.

"And why your bag is squirming?"

"Is it? I hadn't noticed."

"Let me see, then."

"I'll have to decline," Goro said, then stopped. Boss finding Morgana was one thing, but the stuff beneath him... would he think Goro a thief? Was it worth raising the suspicion?

Maybe he had a soft spot for cats. He lowered his bag and unzipped it carefully, whereupon Morgana poked his head out and said, "Oh? Do you live here or something?"

Goro held his breath, but Boss only gave a snort. "I'll be damned. A stray collecting strays now, is it?" He got up from his chair and scratched Morgana behind the ear. "Do you even know how to take care of this thing?"

"I am _not_ a thing!" Morgana snapped. "I'm a human, and - "

"He can't understand you," Goro said under his breath.

Boss shot him a look. "You talk to it too?"

"It's a boy," Goro said. "And... yes." He thought about how to handle this. "Let him stay just for a few days. I'll keep him in my room, and feed him myself. He won't get in your way."

"I'm _not_ in anyone's way - "

"He's already got a mouth on him, that's for sure," Boss said. "... fine. Just tell me how do you intend to feed him? I'm not spending any money on cat food, I'll tell you that much."

"Good!” said Morgana. "As if I would even eat that dreck."

Having seen the cat scarf down a whole piece of salmon in one bite, Goro could only agree. "I'll... recycle," he decided.

"You'll do what now?"

"The deposits on cans and such are pretty high nowadays, don't you think?" He smiled. "Plus, it'll get rid of littering. A win-win solution."

"... sure, kid," Boss said, and went out to have a smoke.

* * *

 "How was your encounter in your first Palace?" Igor asked him that night.

"Strange," Goro said. "But unsurprising."

"Oh?" A lift of that thick white brow. "How unusual an opinion."

"I've dreamt of wilder things," Goro said, and was pleased to hear the man chuckle.

A slam against the bars of his cell. "Don't talk back to our master, inmate!"

Ah, sweet Caroline.

"I wasn't," he said. "I was just sharing my thoughts. Which were asked for, by the way."

"Insolent!" She hit the bars with her rod again.

"... Caroline," chided the cool-blooded Justine. "You forget; _he_ is a prisoner, and _we_ his wardens. To succumb to emotion is beneath us."

"Of course, Justine. You heard that, inmate?"

"How could I ever forget," Goro said with a smile.

"Your rehabilitation continues..." Igor intoned, and let him fall back into deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THOUGHTS:
> 
> \- Obviously this fic will not be a wholesale novelization of the game, because while P5 is perhaps one of the most aesthetically perfect works of fiction ever made, it has severe flaws (pacing, janky as hell localization, and so much dialogue I end up blacking out and furiously skipping whole conversations). Not that I'm going to pretend this fic somehow fixes all that lol, but hopefully it'll be much easier to get through. It definitely relies on the reader knowing the game's whole plot and characterization prior however... so newbies beware!
> 
> \- These early chapters and the whole Kamoshida arc are not my favourite to read or revisit. At this point I was just writing to see whether this role reversal idea had any real merit, and ended up copying too much of what basically happened in the game to propel things forward, and the story is more insipid for it (I say as I have no intention of rewriting it lol).
> 
> \- Hopefully the reader can see I am getting a better grasp of Goro's character (or at least what I perceive him to be in this AU). He's opening up a bit more and gettin' saucy with it. This was also the point where I was no longer afraid of making him a little "rawer" regarding his past and the obstacles that have left him emotionally starved, for lack of a better word. It would have been very easy, but a copout to create a Trickster Goro who was all sugar and spice and didn't bear any of the wounds and grief he did in canon, even if here he's had a marginally better pre-Shujin homelife. I love cheesy ass shit too where Akechi is sweet as a flower and easily flustered by Akira or whomever, but one of the things about Canon Akechi that makes a huge impression to me is how precise and practiced and in-control of himself he seems. Yes, even when he's being fucked over by Yaldy or toyed with by Shido (and all that combined with his nightmare of a background still makes my shake my head at how Atlus chose to handle his arc; essentially as a pawn that stays a pawn in a game whose whole theme is about giving unjust authority the FU and fighting back) Akechi still seems like he has tremendous agency over it all... which is possibly a factor in why so many people seem to think he's bad to the bone and deserves only mean things and hellfire? Lol.
> 
> \- So yes, this Goro is a Trickster and working very hard to be a good boy, but he's still jealous and a little manipulative and sometimes he makes odd choices because yolo! He's trying to get better though.
> 
> \- Oh yeah. Futaba?? WTH are you doing here?? And why is Sojiro so much nicer than he is in the beginning of canon? HMMM
> 
> (I need your likes... I need your love... please comment and kudos! <3)


	3. Steal Kamoshida's heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Goro's heart grows a little bigger, day by day. 
> 
> Oh yeah, and some pervert gets his ass kicked.

**3\. Steal Kamoshida's heart**

Mishima flung himself off the school roof.

Suzui wept. "I don't understand. What did we do wrong?"

"Damn it!" Sakamoto kicked a railing. "What the hell! I thought we had it under control."

"It looks like Suzui wasn't the only one Kamoshida was targeting," Goro said under his breath. Suzui gave out a sob, and Takamaki gave him a bitter look. "I'm sorry," he said. "That was tactless of me."

"You're right," Suzui whispered, sinking to her knees. "I shouldn't have skipped practice. I should have gone to his office when he told me. It's my fault Mishima-kun got hurt. It's my fault - "

"Shiho, stop!" Takamaki looked like she would burst into tears herself. "You can't blame yourself for what he's doing to other people."

"But if I'd listened to him - "

"Then you'd be the one on the rooftop," Goro said. "Understand? Not Mishima. Nothing else would change."

Takamaki began to cry.

"Holy _shit_ , dude," Sakamoto said, turning red. "Don't say things like that."

"I'm being cruel," Goro said. "But Suzui-san, you cannot blame yourself for things outside of your control. Consume too much of someone else's sins and the weight of it all won't leave room in your heart for anything else." He bit his lip. Medics crowded around Mishima's prone body now, and through the shocked din of the other students in the courtyard they could not see if he was still breathing or if a white sheet would be placed over him soon.

"In this world," he found himself saying, "you can only save yourself."

"Stop it!" Takamaki welled her hands into fists and hit him - weakly - on the shoulder. "You're such an _asshole_ , senpai. Come on, Shiho. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah," Shiho sniffled, and the two of them chained their arms together and hurried past Goro to the courtyard exit, where they slammed headfirst into Kamoshida.

"Suzui? Takamaki?" Goro heard the teacher say, and whipped around - alongside Sakamoto and half the student body. The girls rushed past Kamoshida and fled, and the teacher looked at the crowd to see over a hundred pair of haunted eyes gawking back at him.

The whispers broke through like a crack in a dam rent asunder.

_It's him..._

_Everyone knew Mishima was weak. Why did Sensei have to push him so hard?_

_I can't believe he has the audacity to show up now of all things. Doesn't he have any shame?_

_Poor Mishima..._

_Look at him, he's not even ashamed of what he's done._

_I thought he only treated Suzui like shit, but he must have abused Mishima too..._

_Only a piece of shit would pick on someone like Mishima. The guy never even had any friends._

_What's wrong with him? He's not even apologizing._

_Why is he still here?_

_Why doesn't he say something?_

_Why is he looking at us like that?_

"Good afternoon, Sensei," Goro said.

"Yeah," Sakamoto snarled. "Welcome to ya."

* * *

Kamoshida fled, and Akechi Goro followed.

This time, when they entered his Palace they were prepared.

* * *

Robin Hood was a gifted Persona, and his Megidola cleared most of the Shadows in their way. The other Personas Goro acquired through negotiation - a real world skill he was pleased to see come in handy in this fantastical place - though weaker, had more common elemental powers that made targeting the weaknesses of Shadows farcically easy once he probed them out first. Morgana was handy too, healing Goro whenever he was injured or physically exhausted. The cat proved his worth.

Persona-less, Sakamoto carried the weight of their supplies: simple food and drink items that in the Metaverse granted them full health and magical capabilities (needless to say, Goro had had a busy morning errand run). From the way he tapped his feet in restlessness whenever Goro and Morgana attacked a Shadow and he had to stay in hiding lest he become a target, he was frustrated about his perceived uselessness... but every army needed its supply train.

Not that Goro said it aloud. He was already on Takamaki's bad side today.

* * *

And then it happened.

Morgana missed his attack twice in a row, and Goro had foolishly wasted his SP testing out weaknesses on the Shadow, leaving no room for Robin Hood's greater strength when it all went to waste. _Dear me_ , the Persona chided, _but you are coming close to peril, and so soon in your journey too._

"I know," Goro gritted his teeth as he dragged himself back onto his feet. God, but he was weak - even Morgana had more of a punch.

_However will you get yourself out of this one?_

Honestly, he had no idea.

"We need to heal," Morgana panted. The Shadow had taken a real charm to kicking him, which left Goro time to think, if not to heal.

(Not that it was doing him any good at the moment.)

"Oh, now this is precious," boomed down a familiar voice. "Look at you little thieves, crawling and gasping just to save your own skins. And where is that whelp Sakamoto? Cowering as usual? I see you, hoodlum!"

Goro wasn't even surprised when Sakamoto leapt out from behind a pillar with a growl and a "Fuck you, man!"

He had a can of Second Maid in his hand. Oh no.

He aimed and flung it straight at Kamoshida's head, where it bounced off without a mark. The Shadow clutched his brow and groaned nonetheless... which was funny, even to Goro. Would he bleed if cut? None of the other Shadows did, yet they weren't the rulers of this Palace...

(Yes, he'd done a lot of note-taking last night, interrogating Morgana about everything Metaverse-related until they'd both gotten to sleep dreadfully late. Suffice to say Goro was gaining an understanding of how things worked in this unreality.)

"Insolent wretch!" Kamoshida flung out his arm, and behind him even more Shadows popped into existence in black plumes of smoke. _Great_. "Execute these thieves and let their bodies rot!"

"Aw, hell no - " Sakamoto surged forward, but the Shadow that had been pummelling Goro and Morgana to pieces blocked his way, and the ones Kamoshida had summoned stomped down the gilded staircase and loomed over them like a guillotine.

 _Well, young one, it has been a good run_ , Robin Hood murmured to Goro.

It sounded like he was laughing.

Fucker.

"Sakamoto," Goro snarled, clutching his ribcage. "Get out of here."

"What? You've gotta be kidding!" Sakamoto's fists were tight by his sides. "You and Morgana are gonna die if I don't do something right now - "

"What can you even do?" Goro said, and Kamoshida laughed.

"That's right, Sakamoto. What can you do? All you've ever been is a leech to others. You destroyed the track team because of your weakness, and it wasn't enough, was it? Now your friends will die here, and you can do nothing about it, again."

"Shut up," Sakamoto said.

"We'll be fine," Morgana managed through bloodied fur.

"Just go," Goro said, and felt something warm and wet and red slick down his face.

"Shut up." Sakamoto sank to his knees and clutched his head. "Shut up, all of you. Stop telling me I'm weak." Veins began to pound in his temples. "Stop telling me I'm useless." Spit dripped from his open mouth, his heaving heart. " _Stop telling me I can't do anything to even help my friends_!"

* * *

 Goro closed his eyes to shield them from the coming flame. He knew what was coming.

* * *

 When he came to, the Shadows were gone, and Sakamoto was advancing upon Kamoshida with an enormous skeleton pirate looming over his costumed shoulders. The Persona appeared to be goading him on, lightning crackling around the two of them, dancing on the tips of Sakamoto's gloved hands.

 _Oh_ , Goro thought. This should be interesting.

"Ryuji? Is that you?"

Never mind.

Sakamoto turned to the interloper. "Ann?" he spluttered. "What - what the hell are you doing here?!"

Kamoshida backed away and began to run, and Goro thought _oh no you don't_. He gathered up the last of his strength and whipped out his arm. "Silky! _Bufu_!"

It did near-nothing in damage, and the Shadow vanished with a poof of smoke. It made him feel good though.

Goro was truly out of steam. He collapsed onto the red carpet and rolled onto his side, breathing in slowly.

Morgana dragged himself over and whapped him on the face with his paw. "Akechi! We agreed not to kill him."

"Did we," Goro said in a daze.

"Akechi? Senpai?"

Oh, yes. He sat himself up and took his mask off to see a pale and wide-eyed Takamaki staring at the lot of them.

"Sakamoto can explain," he said, and flopped himself back down.

* * *

Once they found themselves another safe room, Sakamoto explained the situation in between bites of fried bread and chugging down several cans of 1UP, while Morgana interjected whenever he found the boy's explanation too careless. Goro chewed his bread in a more dignified fashion, and Morgana looked much better once he drank four Waters of Rebirth in a row, though he nearly spewed it all back up when Goro told him what the secret ingredient was.

Takamaki took the news of the Metaverse considerably well, though her gaze kept straying to and fro Morgana, as if _his_ presence was the hardest to explain - especially when he used Media in front of her, and suddenly both Goro and Sakamoto's postures perked up and half their bruises disappeared in an instant.

"I have to ask though," Goro said. "What are _you_ doing here, Takamaki-san?"

The girl's hands tightened in her lap, and she bit her lower lip before admitting, "... actually, I came to chew you out. For what you said to Shiho before."

"Oh." Deserved, in that case.

"But - " She looked around the safe room as if the security of it might dissolve around her. "If you have powers like that, then I guess I can see how you feel that way."

Goro cleared his throat. "No, you were right. I got ahead of myself... and I'm sorry."

Her eyes crinkled when she smiled. "Say that to Shiho, and maybe I'll consider forgiving you."

"What... uh, what about me?" Sakamoto said, wiping breadcrumbs off his jaw.

Takamaki laughed. "You were cool too, Ryuji."

"Oh. Thanks." He pinked. "I meant you, though." Looking at Goro. "About the whole saving only yourself thing."

Had it bothered him too? Curious.

"You saved me," Goro said. "Us. We wouldn't have made it otherwise. So... thank you."

Strange, how his heart didn't feel resentful saying it. Was this what being part of a team was like?

Could he want this kind of selfless feeling to last?

He remembered Igor's words: _Bonds of friendship you make along the way will assist you in ways more than you can possibly imagine,_ if _you choose to pursue them..._

Something to keep in mind.

"Another Persona will be useful to the team," Morgana said. "And with..."

"Takamaki," she said. "But you can call me Ann, if you like."

"Oh! Yes!" The cat leapt up onto the table and did a full bow. "My lady."

Goro coughed.

"You too, senpai."

"No, I didn't mean... not like that."

"Admit it," Morgana said, eyes glittering. "You were jealous for a moment, weren't you?"

"I refuse to acknowledge that with a serious answer - "

"So you were!"

"Uh, guys?" Sakamoto fidgeted, hands in his pockets. "I was thinking... should we be using our real names in here? I mean, I know Morgana told us the real Kamoshida doesn't know what his Shadow's up to, but it still feels kind of wrong. What if someone else comes in like Ann and finds out who we are."

"You _are_ all wearing masks, after all," Takamaki said. "Even Morgana! Not in a bad way, though. You look super cool."

The cat preened in pure delight. "I bet I look even more dashing as a human. You'll see when I get my body back!"

Goro contemplated the idea. "What do you have in mind?"

"Code names," Sakamoto said, pure teeth in his smile. "So, my outfit's all metal biker and hard-edged, so I was thinking something like Fang or Striker, or - "

"Skull," Goro said absently. When the boy looked at him, he added: "I was thinking about your Persona. Captain Kidd? Your mask as well..."

"I like it!" Morgana said.

"It _is_ hardcore," Takamaki said. "Ryuji?"

It took Sakamoto a moment, but then he nodded. "Yeah, I dig it. What about you two?"

"For myself, I believe..." Morgana was deep in thought. "I got it! Milord!"

"I am _not_ calling you that," Sakamoto said.

"What about Black?" said Takamaki.

"Just because of my fur? Too obvious!"

"I suppose Lechat is out as well," Goro said.

"Now you're just being mean!"

("Lechat? What is he talking about?"

"Ryuji, I only speak English. I have no idea!")

"What about..." Takamaki put a hand on her chin. "Mona! Short for Morgana, of course."

"That's not even a real code name," Sakamoto said.

"No, I like it," Morgana said. "It's... elegant. Like me."

Takamaki beamed.

"What, just because Ann suggested it?"

"No, dummy! Because - well - "

"It suits you," Goro said, cutting the argument short.

"Really. You're on his side too."

He shrugged. "It's hardly if Morgana is the same as you and I. Ah, in terms of how we came to our situations in the Metaverse, of course. A code name denoting rarity is befitting our most experienced... and mysterious member."

"Why... nicely said! You know, I'm starting to like you!"

"Uh huh."

"Two out of three, done!" Takamaki looked to be having more fun than the rest of them combined. "What about you, senpai?"

"Pinocchio - " said Sakamoto.

"Do not finish that sentence," Goro said.

"Why not? It makes sense - "

"No," he said, and did not brook argument.

"Ace!" said Morgana. "You're our ace up our sleeve. Since you can use multiple Personas and cover our weaknesses."

"You _did_ get your Persona before I did," Sakamoto said.

"Thank you," Goro said. "But I already had something in mind."

"Ooh," Takamaki said. "We're all ears."

"Crow."

"I see - Crow? Huh?" She pressed her glossy lips together. "But your outfit is so..."

"Gaudy?" He smiled. He knew how ridiculous it looked, especially when he was bellowing out orders and flailing his arms about like a hapless conductor.

"Stylish. I was going to say stylish." Takamaki grinned. "Come on, senpai. I'm a model. I would kill to wear extravagant stuff like this."

"Lady Ann is right!" Morgana hopped up to him and stared him up and down in intense thought. "Something more leaderly is appropriate for someone with your ability. No offense, Skull."

"You know what? No offense taken."

"Something like Prince," Morgana said.

"I like that too," Takamaki said, clapping her hands together.

"Thank you," he said, leaning back in his chair. "But I've made my choice. Crows are... how do I say this." He picked up his mask and examined it. "They have a reputation as carrion eaters... animals that consume the dead. And as thieves. Dirty, and irritating, and a bad omen. In a sense, they've been cursed since the day they were born.

"Like me."

The room fell quiet. Takamaki made a small o with her mouth.

"But," Goro continued, "symbolism is just that, after all, and despite their unjust reputation crows are terribly intelligent, almost akin to the minds of apes. They can remember faces for years on end, they can solve problems, use tools to get what they want... and despite their limitations, they sometimes even get the better of humans." He smiled. "I respect them immensely."

Goro stared at his mask, pricked his gloved finger with the tip of its nose. Manifestation of the Metaverse's reality as it was, it was too dull to pierce through.

For better or for worse, it was only a mask. And masks only hid the true self.

Never revealed them.

(Lucky, for him.)

"Well said," Morgana said.

"Crow it is, then," Takamaki said, and turned away, her gaze misting over.

Sakamoto got up and came over. "You're the real deal, Akechi," he said, and punched him on the shoulder.

* * *

On the way out, Takamaki said, "Wait, what about me?"

"What? You want to come back here?" Sakamoto said.

"Well, apparently you didn't have a Persona when you came in with Sen - Crow either, so why can't I?" She set her teeth on edge. "I want to beat Kamoshida to a pulp too. For Shiho, and Mishima-kun, and damn it, for me! I'm sick of having everyone else defend me while all I do is cry about it. I am _not_ going to cry anymore while I still have a chance to make things right."

"Your choice, leader," Morgana said, and leapt into Goro's arms as the Metaverse dissolved around them back into reality.

He was an ordinary cat when Goro looked down at him, then at Takamaki.

Really, he had no idea how something like this would work out. Three was company, four a crowd.

And yet, when had he ever had a surplus of allies in his life? Enough to be able to pick and choose? Really, Goro?

"Welcome to the team, Takamaki-san," he said, and the sweet bell of her joy and laughter sent Robin Hood rumbling in approval somewhere deep and dark in the abyss of Goro's mind.

_Very good, young one. A true hero never demeans; only uplifts. Now you understand._

_Shh_ , Goro told him, and walked with them all to the station. They all had separate places to be, and yet, when Sakamoto said, "So, are we finally getting some ramen together or what?" his heart was too full to deny him.

Takamaki ate three bowls of ramen and an extra-large platter of gyoza. Where did it all go? How was her waist so small? When Goro pigged out (rare as it was, unfortunately) it showed on his body. Was her stomach a part of the Metaverse too?

When she went to the bathroom to freshen up, Morgana sighed. "I'm in love."

"Dude. No," Sakamoto managed through his mouthful of noodles.

"Why not? I'm a catch!"

"Yes, you are," Goro said without thinking and leaned down to scratch the cat on the head.

Morgana didn't even protest. "See? At least Crow gets it."

"You know birds and cats are like mortal enemies, right?"

"What! They are so not! Crow, tell him!"

"I'm baaack!" Takamaki sashayed her way over. "Chef, another plate of gyoza, please!"

"Ann! We do not have the money," Sakamoto hissed. Glaring at Goro: "Stop her!"

"My treat," Goro said, and didn't stop smiling all night.

* * *

"You're late," Boss said.

"Mm," said Goro.

"Again."

"Yes."

"Should I be worried?"

"No."

"Is that a scratch on your arm?"

"Yes."

"Kid, what are you even doing."

Goro stopped washing dishes and thought about it.

"Making friends," he said, and laughed when Boss spluttered in disbelief.

* * *

Kamoshida threw down the gauntlet.

"I know it was you. Keep interfering and you'll be expelled by next month. All of you."

"Yes, sir," Goro said. Smiling.

"You haven't seen the last of us," Sakamoto promised. He was all gritted teeth and clenched fists, this one. "Just wait."

Takamaki stepped up to the plate. "Keep your hands off Shiho or else."

Kamoshida sneered. "You too, Takamaki?"

"Yeah." Her hands were like fists, were like missiles and guardians, the promise of untapped power and the love of a friend. "Me too."

* * *

 "Mishima-kun sent me a message," Suzui said, clutching her phone.  "He'll be all right. But..." she hesitated. "He'll have to learn how to walk again." Her gaze flooded with tears, yet she refused to cry. "I'll never forgive Sensei," she whispered. "Not for as long as I live."

"Thank you for telling me," Goro said. "And for what it's worth, I agree."

* * *

Kamoshida threw down the gauntlet, and the Phantom Thieves of Heart rose to seize it.

Out of rage and righteous fury rose Panther from the ashes and her alluring and dangerous Carmen. Her whip tore Shadows to pieces, and her laugh when she prevailed was as wild as it was serene.

Skull roiled with energy tense and inspiring; he was their berserker, their heavyweight and backup when all else failed. Shadows underestimated him at their own peril. Goro never did.

Winds of strength and healing wrapped around Mona like a fresh vine around its mother tree. His words uplifted them as high as his gifts. _Perfect as always, Panther! You did it, Skull! Executed with style, Crow!_ When fatigue and exhaustion overwhelmed them, he was their reason for perseverance; from his fountain of generosity they drank religiously.

And Crow...

Crow sweet-talked Shadows and got them money, items, allies.

Crow got them out of traps and security warnings, figured out puzzles in a flash and gave the order to flee when a battle toppled over into chaos.

Crow covered their bases and equipped the party, kept them fed and watered and fully stocked when a Palace prowl approached.

Crow was their leader.

And Crow was madly, exuberantly, deeply... happy.

* * *

Crow said, "Let's send the calling card, shall we?"

* * *

 The King fell, and Panther stayed her hand.

"People like you don't deserve to go out in a blaze of glory," she spat out, tears streaming down her face. "When we take your Treasure, you're not going to be a hero. You're not going to be a martyr." She choked out her last words. "You're going to be held accountable."

"I know," said Kamoshida Suguru. "And I am so sorry. Nothing will ever undo what I have done to you."

No, Goro thought. But it would be interesting to see how he atoned nonetheless.

* * *

 At home, nursing an ice pack on her knee and KGB49 playing on her earphones, Suzui Shiho typed in a question for a poll and clicked confirm.

It was for a website she had just created. She couldn't help but sing aloud, then laughed until she cried when she realised what she was doing.

For the first time in years, since she met Ann and made a friend, outcast to outcast, she felt free, free, _free_ -

* * *

The Principal threw the calling card down on his desk, and Nijima Makoto cringed.

"Sir, I don't know anymore about this than you do."

"That's not _acceptable_ , Nijima. Find out more."

"Yes, sir," she said, and bowed her head.

* * *

"I'm... not allowed flowers, actually," Mishima Yuuki said in a thin voice as he greeted them from his hospital bed. "Allergic. They get me pretty sniffly."

"Oh! No problem," said Ann, who without looking shoved the bouquet of pansies at Ryuji, who without looking shoved it down the garbage bin.

It rattled and nearly tipped over. Halfway out of Goro's school bag Morgana groaned. "Nice going, Ryuji."

"Was that a meow?" said Mishima, perking up. "Did... did you bring a therapy cat?" He smiled. "I love cats. How did you know?"

"Hey! What are you - " Morgana protested as Goro unzipped his bag and pulled him out, planting him firmly on Mishima's lap. "Oh, but you owe me SO much sushi later - "

"Lucky guess," Goro said, and winked.

* * *

"What do you think about these so-called Phantom Hearts of Thieves claiming to 'steal people's hearts', as it were?"

"They have style, I'll give them that."

"Some say their calling card even resembles your Third Eye insignia. Do you think they're copying you?"

"Maybe. Either way, I find their work inspiring."

"But they're in direct competition with you."

"There's enough injustice in the world to go around. I'm not threatened. Besides, even I wasn't aware of this Kamoshida and his actions. If the Phantom Thieves have brought him to account, then I'm on their side all the way."

"That is a strong statement of support."

"It is. But think about it." A carefree shrug. "The police never followed up on the case despite numerous anonymous tips. The school administration was clearly defending Kamoshida from the legal consequences - how do you explain their silence on the matter before he turned himself in? His victims couldn't rely on the authorities meant to protect them from predators like him in the first place. A group like the Phantom Thieves must have been their choice of last resort - and they chose brilliantly."

"Do you think the Thieves might be students of Shujin Academy themselves?"

"It's too soon to tell. This is only their first public case, after all. I'd love to investigate myself if I have the time." Perfect smile. "But either way, things must be very interesting at Shujin right now."

"I agree. And that'll be the end of our show. Thank you for being with us, Kurusu-kun."

"Thank you for having me."

* * *

 Click.

"Nonsense," Boss huffed, putting the remote away. "People can't accept someone having a change of conscience, so they have to make up some group of thieves who steal hearts to justify it? Reality's not interesting enough for them?"

"True enough," Goro said agreeably, wiping the counters of Leblanc down. "No matter how much the truth demands to be listened to, some people will never believe what's in front of them with their own true eyes."

* * *

**Are the Phantom Thieves real? YES**

**6.6%**

phantom thieves? this is a joke right?

if they're real i'll eat my hat on livestream. promise

smh got up early to watch kurusu drag them but he bought 100% into their bullshit

Lol did you expect Mr "Fuck The Cops" himself NOT to support a group that totally apes his style? He loves this shit.

If things at Shujin are as bad as the rumours say then no wonder the students support them.

do they tho? or this your friend on a bike telling you this?

Kurusu vs Phantom Thieves go!!

steal your heart more like steal your girl amirite

Any more shitposting and Admin is gonna delete this thread.

Um you know this forum has like 3 threads rn?? Delete WHAT

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Meh I prefer Kurusu. At least he actually investigates stuff and doesn't pretend his magic powers are doing it all for him.

Uh the fucker pretends he has a third eye that senses evil and shit and that's why he solves so many cases and middle-fingers the police every chance he gets.

yeah well if you were a super hot teen prodigy genius who takes down scumbags for fun you wouldn't give a fuck about authority either lol

WTH?? Kurusu is sixteen??? so keep that shit to yourself???

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So... Phantom Thieves amirite?

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Did anyone get to read the calling card? Some big words up in there!

yeah i kno right fucken nerds

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The Phantom Thieves are real, and they saved me.

And I'm pretty sure I know who they are.

um DEETS??

bitch if you don't spill

guys he's trolling come on. their first case and someone already knows their identities? BS

I'll prove it. Just wait.

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welp. either way, i'm rooting for you phantom thieves!!

**THIS THREAD WAS CLOSED BY ADMIN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THOUGHTS:
> 
> \- Author used... THE POWER OF SUMMARY! It's... SOMEWHAT EFFECTIVE!
> 
> \- Aren't the Phantom Thieves so nice to talk one in a row after each other and not do anything as if they're disembodied heads in a script or something? Hahahahahaha sigh.
> 
> \- The end of this chapter was the first time I was like... okay, this story is going somewhere. It gave me the Feels. Web forum posts in writing are somehow always fun to read though, especially when I get to use decade-old ONTD memes.
> 
> \- Isn't Goro a nice boy already!! Makin' friends with Ann and Ryuji and stuff.
> 
> \- In all seriousness, I had no idea if Goro COULD actually make friends with the two main characters in the cast who seem most unlike him, but happily it seems to have worked out. Unfortunately, the fact that he spends all his school time with a pair of second years will not go unnoticed by others...
> 
> \- Akira: you speak, but are not seen. STAY THAT WAY 
> 
> \- I am way too much of a lazy hack to change TOO much plot since canon being my outline is the reason I've been able to write this story so quickly, but Shiho making the Phansite and not Mishima is going to be one of those small but fun little changes to keep things spicy. There has already been ONE major divergence from canon that will come up later, but ultimately the most important changes are:
> 
> 1) Young institutionalized Goro had emotional support in the person of a social worker/manager from his boys' home, Ogawa-sensei. That isn't to say his life here was hunky dory as a result, but a) someone was there for him during some very difficult times in his childhood b) he isn't QUITE as alienated from the rest of humanity as he was in canon c) ergo, emotions.
> 
> 2) And because of that support or just cause whatevs, Yaldabaoth didn't pick angry baby Goro to be his false trickster. No, he gets the real deal this time.
> 
> 3) AND I CAN SAY NO MORE because even if the inherent nature of a role reversal AU means some things are predictable, it's fun to speculate nonetheless
> 
> (It's been less than an hour and you already have three chapters to read! Aren't you so lucky!!)


	4. Prove your existence to society

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Goro is reminded of the past in more ways than one, and copes in different ways.

**4\. Prove your existence to society**

"And what do you want?" spat the surly store owner with as much love and tenderness as Morgana when Goro "accidentally" woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, then studied in the living room until three in the morning.

Smiling, Goro held up a gold medal and said, "I heard you're willing to buy second-hand goods?"

The man narrowed his eyes. "On occasion, yeah." He stuck his hand out, and Goro passed the medal over and waited.

A snort. "This shit ain't real gold."

"Oh." So much for the Thieves' get together extravaganza.

"But it's not of bad make either." The man looked up. "Thirty thousand yen."

"Done," Goro said. The pad of bills the man tossed him over were crumpled and faded, but not... well. He could replace them at a bank.

"I have some other things, actually," Goro said. "If you'd like to take a look."

And then the police showed up.

 _A_ police. A single plain suit. Stay calm. The man wasn't here for him.

The owner Iwai sent Goro out with a shady brown bag and some excuses Goro forced himself to support for his own sake. "Get out of here," the man grunted, and Goro could not agree more.

Naturally, when he looked inside the bag and found a gun staring back at him he could only pinch his nose.

"Please tell me that's not real," Morgana said from half-inside his school bag.

"He does own a model weapon shop," Goro said. "We should get back to the others, in any case."

"Uni or bust!" the cat cheered on.

"You've tasted uni?" Goro said as he began to walk back to Shibuya Station.

"You _haven't?_ " Morgana said, scandalized. "Oh, I have _so_ much to teach you..."

* * *

 Uni.

Red bream.

Fatty tuna.

Salmon.

Salmon roe.

Lava cake.

Brisket.

Creme brulee.

Wagyu.

Ribs.

Pancakes.

Pancakes!

 _Pancakes_.

Goro stared down at his third plate of perfect, fluffy, golden-brown, _heavenly_ pancakes smothered in butter and cream and maple syrup and fresh strawberries, and sighed.

"So... good," Ryuji moaned, holding his stomach as he rocked himself back and forth on the plush red chair he was sitting in.

"Can't... eat... any more," gasped Ann in a pitiful chord, desserts piled high on the table before her. Her teeth were stained nearly black from chocolate, and it was perfectly fine.

"Mamma _mia_ ," said a sleepy Morgana, who'd devoured so much raw seafood it was very likely he was at least ten percent liquid mercury in body weight. Did he need to go to the bathroom? Was he capable of doing without it?

"Life is good," Goro said simply, and ate.

"Dude," said Ryuji. "I did _not_ know you could put away that much food."

"Waste not, want not."

"That made sense... I think."

"Eight thousand yen a head," Goro said. "Finish _everything_."

"I have never been so happy to be a freeloader," Morgana said.

"Yeah, we know.”

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ryuji! People are looking at us!"

"Well, it's his damn fault for talking when he's a - "

"Oh, look at the time," Goro said. "Talking when you could be eating."

Ann gasped. "You're so right. We only have half an hour left. Let's eat, people!"

"Ugh, no." Ryuji sank into his chair. "I'm exhausted."

Goro nodded. "I'm quite content with this," he said, cradling his plate protectively.

"Lady Ann, _I_ can keep going!"

"Thanks, Morgana. But I'm pretty sure cats are lactose intolerant. I'll just have to eat all these desserts by myself!"

"But I'm not a cat - "

"Bathroom." Ryuji leapt out of his chair. "I need. Bathroom. Now. You come."

"... I suppose I am being gluttonous," Goro said. "Can I leave Morgana with you, Ann?"

"Sure!" she said, then widened her eyes. "Senpai. You just called me Ann! For the first time!"

Oh. "Did I?" After Kamoshida's Palace had been destroyed, he'd stopped thinking of them as Takamaki and Sakamoto. It seemed... odd, to keep that level of formality when the three of them were thick as thieves, after all.

Morgana was Morgana.

"Did... you not want me to?" he said, when Ann didn't say anything further.

"No! I mean, it's great." She smiled. "I'm happy, you know? Especially someone so serious like you..."

"Yeah, he's a real stick in the mud," Ryuji said loudly, slapping an arm around Goro's shoulder and propelling him forward. "Bathroom! Boys' talk! Bye!"

* * *

The bathroom was closed for service.

"You have got to be goddamned kidding me..."

Goro's stomach began to grumble in a distressing manner. "Stairs, Sakamoto," he said. "Now."

"Oh, so she gets to be Ann and I'm still Sakamoto - "

" _Stairs_ ," said Goro, and it was Crow speaking.

"Emergency," said Ryuji. "Got it."

* * *

Ten worrisome minutes later, and they both felt much better as they waited for the elevator down, though when Ryuji ribbed him about Ann and any prospective feelings towards her platonic or otherwise Goro wished acutely for death to come over him. Him or Ryuji it didn't matter.

"Man, this is taking forever. What the hell is taking so long?"

The door opened just after that statement. Goro stepped forward only for a man to block him with his arm. "Proceed, sir," the suit said, not even acknowledging him as a tall bald man walked past, surrounded by bodyguards.

His throat closed. Oh.

Oh no.

"Hey, what's the big deal?" Ryuji said. "We were here first!"

He brought his arm up to grab the suit's shoulder. Goro shot out his own, grabbing his forearm before any damage was done.

"Let it go, Sakamoto," he said in a small voice.

"Dude, they're cutting in line - "

"It doesn't matter," Goro said.

The bald man stepped into the elevator, taller than all his guards. He had an earpiece on and spoke into it, though what he said Goro could not remember.

When the man looked at him, everything was a void in between space and time.

Goro was obliterated, and breathless.

He blinked. The door closed, and the elevator went down.

"What the hell, man," Ryuji demanded. "Why didn't you back me up? He cut in line, you saw it - "

"I," Goro said dumbly, then put a hand to his temple. "I... don't know why."

His friend's attitude died at once. "Hey. You okay there?"

"I just..." He had no idea what to say next.

"I must have eaten too much sugar," he said finally. "I heard it can give you headaches."

"Seriously? Let's get you a place to lie down, then - "

"No, no." He shook his head and fought the urge to stumble. "I'm fine now. Let's just go back to Ann and Morgana."

"Sure," said Ryuji, watching him with cautious eyes. "Sure. Whatever you want, dude."

When the next elevator came up, he made Goro go first, and lean against the wall for stability. It was pathetic, being cosseted to because of a minor headache, but letting Ryuji fuss over him was better than arguing about it.

It was the price of friendship, after all, and it was paying dividends at last.

Goro just wondered why it had to be now.

* * *

"Ogawa-sensei?"

"Goro? Is that you?"

"Yes, it is. I'm sorry I haven't called in a while."

"No, no, it's fine! Don't apologize. You must be busy with your studies anyway. How are you? Your guardian's not too strict, is he?"

"Not at all. He's nicer than he looks, believe it or not. I don't have a curfew anymore, and... I'm doing well at school. I made some friends."

"That's so great to hear. I'm so proud of you."

"Yes... yes, I..."

"Is something wrong? You don't sound like yourself."

"I... uh... I beg your pardon, I'm having a hard time putting this to words."

"Take your time, Goro. Do you remember your breathing exercises? When you used to get mad..."

"I remember, yes. I'll... Sensei, I'll just say it. I saw _him_ again today."

"Him? Who?"

"Shido-san."

"Oh - oh no. Tell me: what happened?"

"It was only for a moment. And he didn't recognize me. At least, I don't think. I went to a buffet with my friends, and I saw him there, and I… I don't understand. I thought I was over it by now. That I'd... let go of such feelings."

"He's your father, Goro. It's been years since he acknowledged you - "

"And threw me away. For the second time."

"... yes. And I'm sorry you had to experience it again, today."

"It's not your fault. You let me see the truth for myself, then."

"Did I? You were so young, and I was so naive to think that just because he sired you, he'd... I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. If you hadn't helped me find out what he was like so soon, I might have... still harboured delusions about him."

"Like wanting him to take care of you?"

"Like wanting to kill him."

"..."

"Hating him so much I couldn't think about anything else but how best to tear him to pieces."

"..."

"Being so consumed with rage I didn't care if I drove myself mad trying to get revenge on him, over and over and over again."

"..."

"Sensei?"

"Goro..."

"I don't feel like that anymore."

"I know. Goro - "

"You know what I felt like today?"

"What did you feel?"

"Scared. I was scared of him, when I wasn't before. I don't understand. Why now?"

"Oh, child. I'm so sorry."

"Is it because I have something to look forward to in life now? Because I have a home, and friends, and a real school life? I'm not sure."

"Maybe that's it."

"It's awful, then."

"Why? What is?"

"At least when I was angry, I felt in control of myself. Like nothing in the world could define me but my own wrath... my all-consuming need for vengeance against the man who wronged me and... ruined my mother's life. Now I'm not angry... and I feel like trash."

"You're not trash, Goro. Today was just an unfortunate coincidence. You'll never have to see him again if you don't want to."

"Sensei?"

"Yes?"

"He's running for Prime Minister."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I know, Goro."

* * *

 That night, he picked up his phone and whispered into the Metaverse App, "Shido Masayoshi."

_Target found._

Fuck.

Fuck!

"Fuck," he said, and let his phone drop onto the floor.

Morgana jolted awake on his duvet. "What? What?!"

"My apologies," Goro said. "I was just - bathroom."

"... you're going to study in the living room again," the cat said in a cold tone.

He shrugged. "I have to keep my grades up, or we're both going to be out of house and home soon."

" _Fine_ ," Morgana said. "Just for an hour, alright? We have to look for our next target soon."

"I promise," Goro said.

* * *

 "You look like shit," said Boss the next morning, when he came downstairs. "Did you even sleep last night?"

"Of course I did," said Goro with shadows under his eyes, and drank his coffee straight.

* * *

"Don't look behind you," Ann said under her breath as they went up the train escalator. "But I'm pretty sure we're being followed."

"Where? Where?" demanded Morgana. "Lady Ann, I'll gladly defend your honour! "

"While we're in the real world, leave defending to the humans, please," said Ryuji.

"What, you and Crow? And no offense, Crow, but - "

"None taken," said Goro. He needed to work on his fitness.

He needed to do a lot of things right now.

They made it up to the street, and the guy was still following them. "Please, not after Kamoshida," Ann said. "I cannot deal with this right now."

"Hold on, I'm thinking!" Ryuji hissed. "Akechi, get in formation."

"Are you serious - fine," Goro said. Remember, it was his choice to continue spending nearly all his waking moments with a pair of second-years and a magical talking cat, and no one from his actual grade. No wonder people still didn't talk to him during lunch break.

"I'll claw his eyes out if he gets too close," Morgana said. "I swear upon my own heart."

"Okay," Ann breathed out. "Thanks, guys. Here goes!"

And half a minute later, the prime stalker himself was duly apprehended and looking very offended as he stared at them.

"I... beg your pardon?" he said, and Ryuji nearly choked.

"Dude... he talks like you."

"He does not," Goro said. Smiling. "Sir, are you aware that stalking and harassment are against the law? Proceed any further, and - "

"What!" The boy snatched his hand away from Ryuji, scalded. "I am nothing so vulgar. I am an artist, and I wish merely to draw your friend, and - "

"Aw, hell no!" Ryuji got into a fighting stance. "You're just like one of those creeps in Shibuya who rope girls into scams and mess them up, aren't you?"

"Girls?" said the boy. He looked at Ryuji, then Goro, then finally at Ann behind them, nervous but willing to throw down if absolutely necessary. "Oh," he said. "Oh no, you are profoundly mistaken. Your female companion is indeed very welcome to look at - "

"Weirdo," mumbled Ann.

" - but the person I was referring to was _him_."

Looking right at Goro.

"Oh," said Ryuji.

"Oh," said Ann.

"No," said Goro.

"But think on it!" The boy stepped forward. "The contrast in your appearance is... impressive. Your clothes! So kempt but clearly of inferior make; passed down from another, perhaps. It speaks of a story. Light brown hair; what a colour even in modern Japan, and the length! It cannot have gone unnoticed by society. And your face! Your smile is immaculate, but so severe; it lacks imperfection. And your eyes - what sadness lurks in their depths? I must know more at once. Please, take my card and contact me as soon as possible!"

He held one out with both hands out, his head formally bowed.

"You must have mistaken me for someone else," Goro said in a voice colder than ice. "I am as exactly as I appear to be. And I have no desire to take your card."

"You heard him. Beat it," said Ryuji.

"I cannot," the boy said. "I must - "

"Yusuke! Where did you run off to in such a hurry!"

A stylish black car rolled up, and an aged man in plain kimono exited and walked towards them with a disapproving aura.

"Sensei," said the boy Yusuke. "I beg your pardon, but I saw my newest muse and could not help but pursue him at first sight."

The man's gaze turned to Goro and his party, and the set of his lips flowed downward.

"I see," he said.

"No muses!" Ann said helpfully. "There are no muses here. We should be going anyway. Right, guys?"

"But my inspiration - "

"Yusuke, please," said the man, and bowed low to them. "I beg indulgence for my pupil's... eagerness. He has been in an artistic rut lately - "

"Yes," said Yusuke, nodding besides him. "It has been a source of considerable frustration to me."

"Won't you understand a young artist's impulses?" said the man. "He means no harm by it."

"Uh, sure," said Ryuji. "Whatever." He looked uncomfortable, and Goro could not blame him.

"Very well," he said, resigned. "But I still have no interest in any of this."

"I see," said Yusuke. "There is truly no way to convince you?"

"Perhaps the muse needs only to be inspired himself," the man said. "My latest exhibition will have its first showing in a few days. Come and see what is on display before making your choice."

"Yes, Sensei. That is wise indeed." Yusuke held his hands out again. "Tickets! For model and company."

"... if you insist," said Goro, aware of how churlish he would come across now if he declined.

"Thank you," said the man. "Now, we must be off. Come, Yusuke."

"I hope to see you all very soon," Yusuke said, and bowed once before taking his adieu.

The car drove off, and the four of them stared until it could no longer be seen in the distance.

"We're not actually going to that exhibition," said Ann. "Are we?"

Goro looked down at the tickets, and saw the artist's name.

Madarame Ichiryusai.

The boy Yusuke's sensei.

"We are," he said, defeated. "Unless we wish to miss out on a gallery painted by the greatest artist in all of modern Japan."

* * *

 "I'm so glad you could make it," said Kitagawa Yusuke the next time they saw him. He saw Goro in his best, beige dress coat included, and beamed. "I appreciate your dressing to the occasion. It speaks of your innermost refinement." Looking at Ann. "You are very elegant as well."

"Oh," said Ann, mollified. "Well, thank you!"

Looking at Ryuji. "You may look at the art as well, but please do not touch or come within five feet of them. The paintings are one-of-a-kind and any impurity would irrevocably damage the value they possess beyond repair."

"... thanks."

"Well, partner, you wanted to come, so." Ryuji slapped Goro on the shoulder. "Speak your fancy talk to art boy over there so we can get the hell out of here asap."

"Sakamoto. You did not have to come," said Goro.

Ryuji's eyes bugged out. "You and Ann and Morgana were all gonna be here, and I wasn't? This might as well be a Pha - "

Goro jammed a foot down on Ryuji's, hard.

"Ow! What the hell!"

"Finish that sentence in public and I will end you," Goro said, smiling as pleasant a smile as a smile could be. "There are at least three hundred people in this one building alone. You will show discipline."

"Me and Ryuji are going to look at the paintings over there," Ann said, and dragged the boy away. "Come on, dumbass."

"How unpleasant," said Kitagawa, when the two disappeared into the crowd. "Do you always spend time with such a person of that nature?"

Goro closed his eyes and took a long breath. "His speech is vulgar," he said. "But his heart is true."

"Is that so? Perhaps I misjudged him, then." Kitagawa's gaze glittered in provoked contemplation. "Come. Let me show you the finest of my sensei's latest creations."

Morgana kept silent the whole time (was he just sleeping?), allowing Goro's attention to wander as Kitagawa, to his credit, explained every painting they encountered in their stroll with perfect detail.

Despite the nonsensical nature of this situation, Goro was beginning to enjoy himself.

"You speak with such knowledge of every piece," he said. "They should have commissioned you to write the artist's statements."

"Oh, but I did!" Kitagawa said, proud as a feather. "Sensei chose me to do the honour himself, and I can only hope I lived up to his expectations."

"Well," said Goro. "You are his pupil, are you not?"

"I am." Kitagawa glowed. "Although... at the moment, there is only I in the atelier."

"There used to be more?" An artist of Madarame's caliber and a workshop full of pupils seemed like a recipe for madness, but perhaps the artist was as supreme a teacher as he was a painter.

"Oh, yes! We were nearly a classroom's worth, at one point." Kitagawa's smile lessened. "But not everyone appreciated Sensei's teachings. Nor could they understand that he cared for their welfare sometimes more than they did, and now the house is quiet when once it was loud."

"You miss the company, then?"

" _Entirely_ ," said Kitagawa. "The vibrancy... the passion of other artists-in-training - their desires and fears the same as mine - " he hesitated. "I was never alone, then. We shared everything. Food, supplies, our frustrations... when we were disobedient, Sensei even punished us together!" He laughed a low and lilting laugh.

"Collective punishment," Goro said. "I used to hate it."

"He would instruct us to read a textbook from beginning to end, even if we knew it by heart a hundred times before," said Kitagawa. "Little did he know that we often hid volumes of  manga behind the bookshelves, and read them together when we were ostensibly repenting. We amassed quite a collection, in the end."

"I... see," Goro said, and looked away. He couldn't possibly imagine.

He saw a painting in the distance with no one near it. "That one," he said. "Tell me about it."

Kitagawa followed his gaze. "That?" he faltered. "I am not sure that piece will be to your liking."

"Don't be ridiculous," Goro said. "What good is a work of art that seeks only to appeal to one's existing sensibilities?" He needed a distraction, desperately. "Enlighten me."

"Yes... I suppose I shall," said Kitagawa, and trailed him to.

The painting had struck Goro's interest at first because of its wild, potent colours - purple here, yellow there, red and black and even a little blue. It was... chaotic, and honestly did not appeal to his sense of aesthetics. Yet he kept his gaze on it, and soon realised what about the painting was so unusual compared to the rest.

The other paintings in the exhibition were landscapes, depictions of scenes in nature. Mountains, lakes, rivers, forests. Painted in gentle, neutral colours befitting traditional work. They could have been painted on rice paper, the depictions were so delicate, and the brushwork so light.

This painting depicted a mountain too, but the mountain was a deep purple; the moon above it black as an eclipse, and oppressive. The sky was streaked thick with red and yellow, the paint so thick Goro could see the various layers and crevices even from his position. The painting needed a thick canvas simply to hold its own weight up.

"This," he said. "Is different."

Kitagawa said nothing.

Goro looked at the artist's statement nearby. "'Asunder'," he quoted. "I suppose that's appropriate. But why is the statement so short?" He raised a brow at the taller boy. "With your gift of vocabulary I find it difficult to imagine you had nothing to say about this piece."

"I... am sorry to disappoint," Kitagawa said. "Inspiration strikes my Sensei at a moment's whim. Mine... less so." He sucked on his bottom lip. "But you - what do you think of it? Is it to your taste?"

Goro smiled.

"If I may be so blunt," he said. "No."

"Oh." Kitagawa winced.

"I can't claim a formal education in the arts or even more than the cursory research I did on your master's work before I came here today," said Goro. "So, speaking frankly from my heart and little where else, I find it difficult to recommend this piece to another. The colours are bold, yes, but aesthetically they go poorly together. The paint seems slathered on to the point of waste, and the depiction of a world sent asunder is one note. Cliche. It imports no greater understanding to the viewer of the subject they might not already possess. Looking at the degree of polish in this work compared to the others in this exhibition, I find it hard to believe what your master was thinking when he chose to show this piece today at all."

"O - oh," Kitagawa said in a strangled tone. "I see."

"That isn't to say," Goro added, "I dislike it. On the contrary."

"I beg your pardon?" The boy's pale face was truly flush now. "Even after all that, you _like_ this piece?"

"Yes," Goro said. "Of all the works today this is the only one that seems alive. It lives and breathes, seeping anguish from every pore. I can feel the artist's frustration... his passion, or perhaps his despair when it didn't turn out the way he wished." He smiled again, and this time he understood. "It's frustrating, of course, because I can see more of the potential than the realization, but I suppose that's why I keep looking at it - it keeps asking me why. Why did the artist paint what he did? Why would he break style in such a way that would provoke more hostility than appreciation? What was he thinking?"

He let the knife sink in.

"What were you thinking, Kitagawa-san?"

"I," Kitagawa swallowed. "I was..."

"You've lived with him all your life," Goro said, gentle as a lamb. "And you know the rumours about him better than anyone else."

"Rumours, you say," Kitagawa muttered, but unsteadily. "When you say rumours, you mean..."

"I looked up your work too," said Goro. "I'm not sure why this painting is in his exhibition and not yours."

The spell broke. "You lie," said Kitagawa, and staggered back. "You - don't accuse Sensei of such a fiendish thing as - as - "

"As what?"

"Plagiarism!" Kitagawa shouted, and cut through the gallery like a blade through helpless flesh.

Silence. People looking at them in shock, mortification - some with base curiosity.

And like that, it was over. Conversation flowed back into the room like a lazy wave, and they were forgotten with deliberate intent.

Save by one.

Maybe, Goro thought, as the artist himself rushed over to them, he had overdone it.

"Yusuke!" Madarame demanded. "What on earth are you yelling about? And with your purported muse of all people?"

"I beg pardon," Goro said, smiling. "We had a... passionate conversation."

"Passionate. Yes," said Kitagawa, swaying on his feet. "I... beg pardon, Sensei. I may need to lie down for a bit."

"Go, Yusuke," said Madarame with a scowl. "Go!"

"Mine as well," said Goro apologetically, bowing. "Just one question, great master."

"You have agitated and distressed my pupil," said Madarame. "I am not sure I wish you to barb me as well."

"It's no barb at all," Goro said. "I just wanted to know what you thought of this painting. 'Asunder'."

"This?" Madarame gave the piece a lookover. "I painted it in a time of great anguish to me. I am glad I was able to turn that misery into something ultimately so productive. Is that what you wished for me to say?"

"How much are you selling it for?" Goro said.

From the artist's dignified face, the smallest hint of a sneer. "I am afraid a mere boy like you could never afford it," said he. "Now I must be off to speak to other guests, and bid you farewell."

"Yes," said Goro. "I thought so."

* * *

 "Boy am I glad you're on our side," said Ann, when they regrouped later and the exhibition was over. They leaned against the railing of the Shibuya passageway, crowds passing them by in the afternoon rush without once taking notice.

"So you knew this whole time something was up with this Madarame guy and didn't tell us?" Ryuji scowled. "Why not?"

"I only discovered the allegations about him when I researched his work for today," Goro said. "I thought it might be useful to determine if they were true or not, and Kitagawa's reactions proved more provident than expected. And please don't take this the wrong way, but _neither_ of you are proficient actors."

"I won't disagree with that," Ann said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but still..." Ryuji jammed his hands in his pockets. "Feels like we're not a team when you keep shit to yourself, you know?"

Goro blinked. "Well, did you enjoy yourself, at least?" and received two blank stares and a burr of disbelief coming from his school bag.

"... no, dude," said Ryuji. "That stuff flew over our heads and you know it."

"Oh." He chuckled. "My apologies, then."

"Crow had fun," Morgana said. "I could barely sleep with all that chattering going on!"

"Yeah, with Kitago _away_ too." Ryuji grinned. "You like him, don't you?"

"I'm afraid you've misinterpreted my interest in the subject entirely," said Goro.

"See, he always talks cryptic when he wants to hide stuff from us!"

"It seems like you want to look further into this, senpai," Ann offered.

Guilty as charged. "It's... self-indulgent," Goro admitted. "And perhaps not on the same level of vulgarity as our previous... acquaintance."

"Well, I'm not sure." Ann bit her nail. "Are the Thi - I mean, we... does it matter who we go after as long as they've committed some kind of sin against others? If what Kitagawa-kun told us about the former pupils and this plagiarism thing is true - doesn't this mean Madarame's hurt a lot of people? Who knows how many years back this could go?"

That... was true.

"Don't forget," said Ryuji. "He needs a Palace too, right?"

"Or a Shadow in Mementos," Morgana piped up.

Mementos. That discovery had been enlightening. Well, they couldn't prowl Palaces every other day, and it was good for experience - and when Goro's funds ran low. Now that he was allowed out in the evenings, he had discovered a few more avenues of supplying them for their Thieving adventures, including a cynical doctor who ran a one-woman clinic on the backstreets of Leblanc (and was possibly ostracised by the rest of the medical community, but let him have discounts on medicine in exchange for him doing her paperwork and very, very, very rarely letting her try experimental medicines on him for "studying"), selling more haphazard junk to Iwai and buying model guns in turn (Goro had yet to acknowledge the brown bag incident though), working on his physical stamina with Ryuji after school so he no longer struggled to keep his head up after a mere hour or two of Mementos, model training/therapy with Ann, learning to make coffee and curry with Boss, and responding to the occasional change-of-heart requests Suzui made of him after she had made that ridiculous Phansite to support the Thieves.

Goro hated the idea of something as asinine as a popularity poll on a forum populated by the mouth-breathing idiots that made up the general public, but Suzui had worked hard on it, and after all that had happened to her, he could only smile, smile, smile! and tell her he was grateful for all she was doing to encourage the Thieves.

(The requests weren't a terrible idea, however.)

"We could check the Metaverse App," said Ann. "If Madarame's name lights up, then we go for it. If not..."

That was probably the best way to proceed things. "Not here, though," said Goro. "I..." He hesitated. "I can do it myself. I'll tell you tomorrow if something comes up."

"We got the app on our phones too, remember?" said Ryuji.

"How could I forget."

"Just... we're a team," he said. "You know? Don't keep us out of the loop."

"I know, Ryuji," Goro said.

The blond's mouth dropped. "Dude..."

"You did it!" Ann said. "First name basis with everyone now."

Goro scoffed. "May I remind you I am your senior and at school you should refer to me as senpai - "

"Whatever, Goroboy." Ryuji pulled out his phone. "Come on, group selfie."

"I will not - "

"Aw!" Ann threw her hands around the two of them, pulling them close together, and Morgana jutting out of Goro's bag to make it in the shot. "You don't have to be so shy, dear leader!"

"I'm not," Goro said in a strangled voice, yet when Ryuji all but shouted, "Smile!" he couldn't help the shameful Pavlovian response in him. His face slackened; his eyes grew soft, and his mouth, pressed tight and thin, melted into a tentative smile that looked upon the camera as if it was a new friend.

To those who had known Akechi Goro as a rudderless and empty child, a half-wild thing born of despair and cast aside a thousand times, they would have laughed in disbelief and told you he was faking, as he always had.

To those who knew him in the future as the once-leader of the Phantom Thieves and a top student, a master of all trades and beloved friend of many, they would looked at the photo and said in surprise, "I never knew he used to be so timid. Look at him now."

And to the one who loved him more than the sky and sun, more than the heavens and all the gold on earth, that person would have looked at the photo and simply remarked, "He looks happy."

What did Akechi Goro think of this photo, the first he had ever taken with friends - with the first people he could ever call friends in his life?

He made it his phone's wallpaper, then changed the passcode.

He then stared at it all night long, and went to sleep with a smile on his face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THOUGHTS:
> 
> \- Goroboy :(
> 
> \- When Goro was maybe thirteen or fourteen, Ogawa-sensei searched through mountains and hills to get him in contact with his biological father in hopes the man would feel a connection with his son, perhaps wish to take him into his life. It did not work out, and as you can tell Goro still has intense feelings about it.
> 
> ... but having met Shido at an earlier, more powerless period in his life, he is under no illusions about what his father is like and wants nothing more to do with him. Unfortunately, plot.
> 
> \- Here we see Goro going from zero to 10 concerning Yusuke, a complete stranger yet with a similar background as him, when he feels the boy is being used by his own guardian. Would he have been so gungho about pursuing this mission prior-Tricksterhood? No way. But now he's tasted power and freedom, and will run with it as far as they take him.


	5. Check on the Madarame rumours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Goro gets way into his role "investigating".

**5\. Check on the Madarame rumours**

Madarame had a Palace.

Goro could feign disappointment, since he had briefly admired the artist - but that emotion dissipated the moment he did his research, and suspicion overwhelmed all else in his mind. So even the great masters succumbed to the worst of impulses, in the end.

The morning after, he called Kitagawa and apologized.

"I'd like to model for you," Goro said while cracking eggs in the kitchen. "Any time, any place."

"Oh," Kitagawa exhaled on the other side, his breath patchy and distorted and soft. "That is a tremendous relief. I accept your apology and will gladly paint you with all my might. Let me text you Sensei's address right away."

Even better.

"Please be discreet," Kitagawa told him. "We will have to work when Sensei is not at home. After the exhibition, I am afraid he was disappointed in you. I am still young and easy to forgiveness, but Sensei is prideful and does not wish you near."

"Kitagawa-san," Goro murmured. "My lips are sealed."

* * *

 "Akechi-kun. There you are."

It was lunch break, and Goro was half-reviewing his English textbook and half-working on making lockpicks. Unfortunately, his pathetic sense of proficiency meant half the picks were botched before he could even finish them, but at least Morgana wasn't clawing the inside of his desk out of despair anymore. He was improving.

He looked up at the speaker and smiled. "Nijima-san," he said, setting his book down over his work. "How can I help?"

Nijima looked more frazzled than the last time they'd interacted nearly a month ago. Her posture was stiff, and she fidgeting with her fingers.

"I'd like to show you something, if I may," she said. "Would you mind coming with me?"

"I'd be delighted," Goro said, and got up, aware of Morgana watching him as he left.

Nijima led him out the classroom and to a bulletin board near the school entrance. "Here," she said, pointing to a white sheet. "What do you think, Akechi-kun?"

He leaned closer and studied it. "A suggestion board for students to express their wishes anonymously, supported by the Student Council." He looked at Nijima. "This is new, I presume."

"Yes. The Principal asked me to put it up and make it my personal project."

"You're already Student Council President, and the top of your own class," Goro said. "It's a bit excessive for extracurriculars, don't you think?"

"No! I'm proud to be a part of it," she said. "But you're right. It is a lot of work, and..." She sighed. "As you can see, the students have not been holding back on how they feel."

Indeed. From complaining about dirty toilets to the unfairness of midterms quizzing you more on random anecdata than knowledge relevant to the now, to the yakisoba pan racket to privileged access to the rooftop ever since the Mishima incident (FREE SHUJIN FROM THIS TYRANNY! ROOFTOPS FOR ALL!! the person added in red marker, to be exact), the list went on and on.

"Some of these aren't even related to the school," Goro said.

"True," said Nijima. "But if they concern the students' well-being, it would be unfair to dismiss them outright." She rubbed her temple. "Look at the most recent complaints."

Goro did, and oh dear.

Accusations of bullying, and theft.

Shady characters in Shibuya promising large amounts of money for easy work (a scam? Drug running?).

Stalking. Abusive relationships, and parental mistreatment.

"I wonder what brought this on," he said under his breath.

"Ever since the Phantom Thieves arrived, opinions at the school have been more charged," said Nijima. "It's like... a restless energy has overtaken us all. I suppose the students feel empowered to complain about things in a way they might not have before."

Goro smiled. "Well, let's be frank. It wasn't so much the purported Thieves as much as it was the overdue downfall of Kamoshida-sensei... whose allegations you yourself denied when I spoke to you last."

"I did," said Nijima, resigned. "Would you like an apology, Akechi-kun?"

"Oh, I don't care," said Goro. "I'm just curious... did you really not know?"

"... or was it more beneficial for me not to know, considering the circumstances," said Nijima. "That's what you're thinking."

Goro crossed his arms and waited.

"Any answer I give to you now will seem self-serving," said Nijima. "And the truth is I knew and didn't know. I knew of the rumours, as most of the student body did. But nothing was ever confirmed, and if I had sought anyone out myself they wouldn't have told me." She closed her eyes. "No, that's dishonest. I never even tried to find out. I shouldn't pretend as if it was other people making it hard for me."

"In your defense," Goro said, "I'm sure many of the alleged victims had reputations that spoke against them as well. Compared to a former Olympic champion of a teacher, who would choose to defend the delinquents with awful home lives, reckless behaviour and... loose sense of morality?"

"You did, Akechi-kun," Nijima said, string right at him.

"Nijima-san, you forget. I have a reputation as well."

"You were right, though. You were a transfer student with no friends and no power, and I was Student Council President. The Principal's favourite." She grimaced. "I should never have been afraid to do the right thing."

Goro was still.

"Nijima-san," he said. "When you take on the power granted to you by authority, you also take on its existing chains and burdens. Someone in your position, even as a student, cannot afford to be a rock thrower. You are not an _agitator_ , but a flagbearer."

"I have to uphold the school's traditions," Nijima said. "Even when I personally disagree with them."

"Right," Goro echoed. "Expressing public dislike, refusing to go along with consensus, taking on the language and manner of a rebel while in such a role... it would be dishonest beyond measure. A betrayal of the principle itself."

"You make it sound like I should quit and start pummelling gang leaders in the street," Nijima said wryly.

Goro grinned. "Please. I don't have to live up to any of your expectations, so I'm welcome to say as I like. You know yourself better than I do, in any case."

"Of course." She smiled. "I may have misjudged you, Akechi-kun. And for that I am sorry."

"I did antagonize you for my own amusement our first conversation," he said. "So really, it's no skin off my back."

"Oh. Apology retracted, then."

"There is one thing, though."

"Pray tell."

"I," said Akechi Goro, "do have friends. Three of them, in fact. Four, if you include my parental guardian."

"Your guardian!" That made Nijima chuckle. "I see. Well, if I may be so bold as to get to my original proposal - "

"Please do." He was curious too, and certain of where it led.

"This suggestion board. I'd like your help on taking care of it." Her expression grew serious. "All of it."

"And in exchange...?"

"I wouldn't make you give your days for free, of course," said she, and Goro thought, _days?_ "You'll receive a letter of recommendation from the Principal to any college of your choosing, and extracurricular credit. I may also be able to call in a few favours and get you a free period every now and then."

"Call in favours?" he said. "With whom? The teachers?"

"Akechi-kun. Be realistic," said Nijima. "We both have the best grades in our year. We can miss a few classes without losing our positions. Besides," she added. "I saw what you were making when I came in. I didn't know you were into metalwork!"

Ah. Smooth, Goro. Very smooth. Did you think an upright book in the way would stop her?

"I'll have to look into my schedule," he said. "I can't promise anything upfront, of course."

"I understand. I may be unavailable some days as well."

"But," he said. "As I said before, I do have a reputation in this school. One I find largely unpleasant, and wish to get rid of." He smiled. "If performing a few good deeds and easing the minds of students will do the trick, then I see no reason to refuse you my services."

"Excellent!" said Nijima, and held out her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal," said Goro, and shook her hand.

* * *

 Was she onto them?

No, Goro thought as he made his way to the Madarame address. Despite the Thieves' continual struggle with the concept known as keeping secrets in public, they'd kept their meetings far from the school. He had been able to divert their conversation from the Thieves easily as well, and Nijima's interest in the suggestion board seemed genuine. Some of the frustrations were close enough to requests he got from Suzui to the point of double-dipping, and those extra perks were tempting.

Did he expect a letter of recommendation from the Principal, in the end? Not a chance in hell. But a free period would be useful indeed. Despite his training with Ryuji, he was sore from Mementos every time he went down the endless distorted floors, hardly able to do much when he came home but cover his lower half in ice packs in the evenings while Morgana berated him if he so much as looked to his door for a moment of freedom. He needed time to catch up on his studies, make lockpicks, replenish supplies.

He could admit privately that talking to Nijima had been... fun. He'd been childish the first time they met, prodding her for sheer lack of better things to do. She was clever, like him; willing to recognize her flaws and acknowledge them without much in the way of self-consciousness (something he had yet to achieve in seventeen long years of existence), and many of her thoughts mirrored his, even if they came from a different background and set of beliefs.

Goro realized abruptly that he might appreciate Nijima because she reminded him of himself, and... no.

He would never wear a headband made of fake hair.

* * *

 "While I'm in there," Goro said. "I insist you not use the Metaverse keywords on your own. For everyone's sakes."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it!" said Ryuji. "... why though. We already have what we need.”

"That's true," Ann said. "Senpai?"

"It's not enough to go on," Goro said. "Kamoshida's Palace was one thing. We were all familiar with Shujin, but Madarame is a stranger to us, and we'll have no idea what to expect from his distortions. We need to be fully prepared before we break in." He ran fingers through his hair again. "Compact, please."

"You look _fine_ ," Ann said, handing it over so Goro could inspect himself in its mirror. "I model all the time, and once you get used to it it's just like posing at home. Plus, you have great bone structure."

"It's adequate," Goro said, staring at his pores. "Morgana?"

"Armed and charged, Crow," said his feline friend. "Though I'm not sure about these lockpicks of yours. Are you sure they'll work?"

"They'll work." He closed the compact and gave it back. "Shall we?"

"Knock 'em dead," said Ann, and pumped her fist in the air.

"Just glad it ain't me," Ryuji muttered, as they approached the front door.

“Ryuji, we're _all_ glad it's not you.”

* * *

"You're here!" said Kitagawa.

His gaze slid over.

"And... your merry band of companions too, I see."

"Sup," said Ryuji.

"Sorry to bother you," Ann said, holding up a heavy plastic bag full of goodies. "We brought drinks and snacks!"

"That's kind of you. But I was hoping for a less... festive setting with my muse?"

"I understand your concerns," Goro said. "But I hope you can forgive a few of my own. I've never done this before, and though I trust you, to go into the house of a stranger and... make myself vulnerable for several hours is a nervous prospect."

"I... see," said Kitagawa, as if it had never occurred to him how dodgy his request might seem otherwise. "You are all from Shujin, as I recall?"

"Exactly," Goro said. So even Kitagawa knew of the scandal. “You grasp my meaning, I hope."

"We'll be super quiet," Ann said.

"To be honest, you can just leave us out in the hall," Ryuji said. "We'll just play on our phones or whatevs."

"I... shouldn't let people wander around Sensei's abode when he isn't here," said Kitagawa. "I must - _if_ I allow this - you must promise me in absolute faith and good conscience you will stay put while I paint my muse and not touch a single thing in the house - "

"Sooo," Ryuji drawled, unzipping his school bag to reveal ten brand spanking new volumes of manga. "You like One Piece?"

Kitagawa appeared to stop breathing for a moment.

"I... could not hold another work of fiction in higher regard," he admitted, as if it was hard for him to speak.

"It'll be like we were never here," Ann said. "Please?"

"... very well. Come inside."

He still looked in a daze, so Goro tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you."

"My pleasure," the boy said, regaining colour. "Your friends are very persuasive."

"I know. Incorrigible pests, all of them," Goro said as Morgana squirmed in his bag, locking the door behind them. "Well then, Kitagawa-san. Do your worst."

* * *

"I'd like you to model nude as I draw you. Would that be acceptable, Akechi-san?"

"It... might," Goro said, struggling to keep concentration on Kitagawa sitting on a stool cross-legged with a sketchbook in front of him and not the investigation the others were up to at the moment. "Forgive me, but I thought you were painting me? Why the sketchbook?"

"We'll only be doing the preliminary sketches today, of course," said Kitagawa. "It would be be an unbearable tragedy if I could not recall your every expression and posture when it finally comes time to put thought into paint."

"Yes," said Goro. "But as _I_ recall, what intrigued you first about me was the contrast I presented in my whole self. Clothes included." He smiled. "What is light without dark? Sweet without the bitter? Control without chaos?"

Kitagawa lowered his sketchbook. "It hadn't occurred to me," he muttered. "Of course! I became fixated only on one aspect of you when naturally you are more than the sum of your parts! No wonder you have been in a rut if you cannot grasp even this much, Yusuke..."

There was a crashing sound behind the door.

"What was that?" said Kitagawa.

"On second thought, let me take off my shirt," Goro said.

"Your friends." Kitagawa bit his lip. "It was generous of them to give me all your snacks and manga without keeping any for themselves. Perhaps I ought to share, to show I am grateful for their acknowledgement."

"Please don't," said Goro. "They're well fed at the worst of times. Acknowledge me instead."

"Yes. I see." Kitagawa selected a pencil from his case. "Might you unveil a little more, Akechi-san? Your undershirt, perhaps?"

What, like some dancing courtesan? Goro needed to work on getting information from him at the moment. He could think about posing seriously later.

"I," he swallowed. "I'm afraid I have a few childhood blemishes that prevent me from doing fully what you say."

"Of what nature, might I ask?"

"I beg your pardon?"

The boy lowered his gaze. "Our conversation at the exhibition," he said. "You told me how you disliked collective punishment. It slipped my mind, then, but..."

There was no way getting past this - not if he wanted Kitagawa's trust. Goro deliberated in hesitant, doubtful silence, then said in a soft voice, "I used to live in an institution."

"You're an orphan," said Kitagawa in realization.

"Yes," he said, and kept his hands calm.

"... then no wonder fate has brought us together," said Kitagawa. When he looked back up at Goro his gaze was glistening. "I too, lost my only family at a young age. My mother was a gifted artist who perished soon after bearing me, and I never knew of my father." He bit his lip. "My mother was once Sensei's pupil, and it was he who took me in as an infant in respect of her memory."

"He raised you," Goro said.

"All my life." Kitagawa smiled. "It was he who told me of my mother, what a superb painter she was. How she wished me to follow in her legacy.

“When I was but a boy I used to get into the paints and streak the walls with all my heart desired! And how furious Sensei was when he found out." A laugh, low and light and airy. "Then he discovered I had the same gift as my mother, and I have followed in her path ever since. I owe Sensei everything. Without him, I might have gone to an institution too - and an artist I would not have been then!"

Goro could not say anything for a long time. He could not think, even, but to close his hands into fists and unfurl them finger by finger, until his breathing evened and he no longer saw red, but Kitagawa's trusting smile as he gazed at him.

"I'm sorry," Goro said.

"What for?"

"My accusations. I didn't know the truth of the matter."

"All is forgiven." Kitagawa beamed. "I am sure Sensei will forgive you too in due time, once he sees the paintings you and I have made together..." He bent to his work and began sketching.

Paintings.

Multiple ones.

 _Together_.

"I'm curious though," Goro said, and knew before he opened his mouth how much he could not help himself. "When they're displayed in exhibition, will they be under your name, or his?"

Kitagawa's pencil snapped in half.

"Akechi-san," the boy whispered, and Goro saw - _saw_ , for the first time - how white his knuckles were, how tightly he held on so the pencil’s halves still cleaved as one. "Please do not make a fool out of me."

He lifted his head to look at Goro, and his eyes were dry.

"Why," said Kitagawa Yusuke, "are you really here?"

* * *

 Goro's mouth watered.

"Fate... has brought us together," he offered.

Kitagawa shook his head. "My words. Not yours."

"I recognize myself in you," Goro said.

"Did you?" The boy rose to his feet, sketchbook falling to the tatami mat. "When you tore my painting apart, knowing it was mine. _Knowing_ I could say nothing to defend myself to protect Sensei's honour."

"So you admit it.”

Kitagawa's expression dropped. "Every artist falls into a rut now and then," he mumbled. "Sensei's has just lasted longer than most. He never forced me - you must not think that! He asked me." He brought his hands together in prayer. "He always asks me. And I always say yes."

He closed his eyes. "Sensei clothes and feeds me. Because of him I was able to attend Kosei on scholarship, and spend my days refining my art. What does it matter if he receives credits for my paintings now? When I am an adult I will open my own studio, and do my best work then. This - this situation will not last forever! One day I will be an old master myself, and Sensei and I can drink sake and laugh about the old days.

"No," Goro said. "You can't."

He reached down and picked his shirt back up. Slipped it around himself, and began to button it up.

"Why is it," he said. "In all the years of Madarame Ichiryusai mentoring dozens of pupils, have none of them made a name for themselves after they left him?"

Kitagawa said nothing.

"You're not the first student he stole from," Goro said. "And you can't imagine you were the only talented one either. There were others."

"The others never understood," Kitagawa whispered. "They weren't raised by Sensei. They - "

"They knew better," Goro said, and advanced.

"He provided for them. Food, shelter. Everything in the world they needed to paint. Why... was it not enough?"

Goro reached out, and clasped the boy's hands to his own. "Tell me, Kitagawa-san. Why was it enough for you?"

Kitagawa's gaze fluttered shut. What long lashes he had, blue-black like his hair, and so elegant. So Japanese.

Goro did not know what he wanted more: to devour them, or make them his own.

Kitagawa Yusuke had a gift, and he did not.

Kitagawa Yusuke had been used by the person who should have cherished him most in this world, and yet he still believed.

Still believed his master was just, was true, was right, was _justified_.

It had been a long time since Goro had been so naive. But let us be clear: Goro had never been taken out of the trash heap and polished, if only to be used.

Akechi Goro had been trash all his life, and therefore bore no illusions about his desirability when he finally dug himself back out.

(Even if Ogawa-sensei had helped him along the way.)

Yusuke was tender. Yusuke was weak. Yusuke was a young boy craving his adoptive father's approval.

He could paint something spectacular in his sleep. A painting in his world might be currency as cheap as one-yen coins on the ground; not even worth the strain to pick them up.

Maybe Kitagawa Yusuke did not view himself as a victim after all, it was only Goro's own grudge that pricked and prodded the boy until he lashed out - not at Madarame, but at him.

Maybe so.

Ultimately, it did not matter what Kitagawa Yusuke thought because he was still a child.

He did not understand, as Goro did, the responsibilities of adults over their children.

Over all children.

To shelter.

To feed.

To clothe.

To nurse.

To protect, and comfort.

To teach, and respect.

To raise up, and uplift.

Not to use as a piggy bank and paper over one's own failings in life.

Not to keep ignorant and helpless to the outer world, lest they ever go their own way and succeed.

Not to hobble and keep in a cage as old and decayed and rotten and _mediocre_ as this broken-down old house when the man had made _millions_ off his students' work and left them destitute and _in_ _the_ _street_ -

Kitagawa Yusuke was sixteen, and still a boy.

Madarame Ichiryusai was an old man.

What excuse did he have?

* * *

"I want to show you something," Goro whispered, and stepped back.

Kitagawa rubbed his eyes, disoriented. Goro opened the door and called out.

Ryuji and Ann and Morgana emerged from the shadows and into the small room. Their expressions were sheepish, but held promise. Morgana held no lockpicks in his mouth. He must have used them all. Good.

"Brief me as soon as we're inside," Goro said, and Ann nodded.

"Finally," Ryuji muttered. He saw Kitagawa's dumbfounded expression and grinned. "You're not gonna have artist's block after this, I'll tell ya."

"What..." Kitagawa looked mystified. "Are you taking me somewhere?"

"We're going to show you the truth behind Madarame," Ann said, and gave him a small smile. "Don't worry. It was scary for me the first time too."

"Thank God we bought all these extra snacks." Ryuji grabbed the bag they'd left in the room earlier. "Alright, you ready?"

"On your mark, Crow," said Morgana.

"Very well." Goro took out his phone and held it up to his face. "Listen carefully," he said, and looked straight at Kitagawa.

He said, right into the Metaverse App, "Madarame Ichiryusai. Shack. Museum."

And all around them, the world dissolved into unreality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember this chapter being longer for some reason... yeah. Anyway. Hopefully it got the job done.
> 
> Thoughts? Yusuke is a magnificent flower of a man whom I love more with the passing of every day, but the way he's introduced in canon and the whole subplot with Ann* was so bizarre and tone-deaf I was ready to throw hands until Fox & Goemon showed up lol. It was the first WTF moment I had in the game and made me wonder if Atlus was really thinking through all their themes properly, especially since it's never brought up again.
> 
> * Beautiful tropical fish Ann is the only significant female member of the main cast for a long time, and after a while I was like DEAR GOD ATLUS LET A BITCH BREATHE WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!! Even Sojiro! I was like dear god don't be creepy don't be creepy...
> 
> Instead, Goro! And a scene that is hopefully less off-putting than canon in one way, at least.


	6. Steal Madarame's heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things escalate quickly, and the Phantom Thieves make a new friend.

**6\. Steal Madarame's heart**

Goro could have predicted Kitagawa would take being transported to the Metaverse badly.

After all, he had just been taken to a fantastically hideous distortion of his own home - depicted in the Metaverse as a gaudy gold museum, red carpet and all - by two hoodlums, a lockpicking cat, and a boy who, for all purposes, were he in a game of diplomacy would always be the first person shot on sight.

Goro could have seen all of this coming, and did.

What he did not predict was Kitagawa fleeing their group in shock and setting off a dozen security alarms, triggering guards all over the museum grounds as he climbed over fences, leapt over hedges, and ran as fast as he could from Goro and company. At least they were already in their costumes; antagonizing Kitagawa at the exhibition had worked inadvertently to get Madarame view Goro as hostile to the sanctity of his Palace immediately. No fussing around.

"So," said Skull. "You want the briefing now, or...?"

Goro fought off a growl and snapped his fingers as Robin Hood manifested behind him. "He's going to die if we don't get to him before the guards do. Now!"

 _Was that such an honourable choice you just made, to lead him so blindly into this world?_ whispered his Persona as Goro chased Kitagawa and saw not far ahead the boy surrounded by half a dozen Shadows in monstrous flare. _You desire to connect with those you deem an equal, but how you do it is as clumsy as an oaf. How unbecoming of one who calls himself a hero._

"And what do you know?" Goro snarled as he came to a stop. "Megidola!"

The first wave took a whole quarter off the Shadows' health, while in the heart of them Kitagawa looked terrified.

"Akechi!" he called out. "What in God's name is this mad world? Am I dreaming? Am I in hell?"

"Hold on!" Panther's voice rang far and wide. "We'll get you out, I promise. _Maragi!_ "

"Stay calm," Skull shouted above the din. "We're gonna show you what your Sensei's really like, got it?! Kidd! Rampage!"

"Magarula! Time to change his heart, too!" sang Mona as Zorro spun into the air and flung his green wind out like a hundred cutting blades.

"Good heavens," said Kitagawa. "Is that a talking cat?"

The battle was quickly over, and Goro rushed over. Kitagawa was unharmed, save on a minor scratch on his cheek.

"I must be dreaming," he said. "Akechi-san, please. Tell me, where are we?"

He staggered over, Skull grabbing him before he could fall. "Dude, keep it together. You're in the Metaverse, and we're in Madarame's Palace."

"Sensei's... Palace?" Kitagawa stared at the museum. "That _abomination_ is..."

"It's how Madarame sees his house in reality," said Panther. "That shack? He's really not living there with you because he likes to keep things humble." She hesitated. "I know it's hard to swallow right now, Kitagawa-kun, but Palaces represent what its ruler really thinks of themselves and their place in the world. And what Madarame thinks is..."

"He's not a modern master," said Mona. "He's a fraud, and we're going to take him down."

"I... see." Kitagawa looked at Goro. "And you brought me here, Akechi-san? To show me what his heart was really like?"

"Yes," Goro said, and ignored Robin Hood laughing in the back of his mind.

"But why?" The boy buried his face in his hands. "What is so deeply buried in my Sensei's heart that I had to know through methods such as this? "

Goro hesitated. Kitagawa looked tired already, and they hadn't even entered the Palace. At least there were four of them, but they would still need to protect him. And for what? Because Goro saw a kinship in him, he felt obliged to pull him into the Metaverse's radar of lunacy and make him a part of his kiddy squad of troublemakers and after school delinquents?

Was he going to do it to Nijima too eventually, and every other person he felt a remote inkling of warmth towards? Boss? Dr Takemi? Futaba?

Goro forced all these thoughts down into the abyss from whence they formed, and smiled.  "You wouldn't have believed me any other way," he said, and held out his hand. "Come, Kitagawa-san. Let's find out the truth together."

* * *

_Oh, child!_

_I am only a being as old as myth itself._

_You think you are the first to know me. You are not even the first in your era._

_You, summer child of seventeen, think you know better than I?_

_You, who have not even lived half a year of freedom in your life before._

_You, who have known only cruelty most of your small years, and the apathy of your betters._

_Brave as you play, you are still an infant._

_But of course, you know better than I, your true self and protector._

_You Wild Cards always do._

* * *

Kitagawa stood in front of a portrait of himself twenty feet tall and ten feet wide, and clutched the red ropes in front that kept them segregated.

"It's even in my own style," he said, when Goro walked over. "How strange. Do you think Sensei ever..."

He did not finish his thoughts.

"Did he ever care for you," Goro filled in for him. "Or did he see you as a vehicle to be used from the day he took you in?"

The boy closed his eyes and nodded.

"I'm sorry," Goro said. "I don't know."

Kitagawa's smile was small. "Yes. I couldn't expect you to. After all, I've lived with him my whole life and it seems I never knew him at all."

 _Didn't you?_ Goro wanted to ask. _You knew he plagiarized from his students. You accepted the burden, and justified it yourself. To me. Don't you know him better than anyone?_

Child and parent, he reminded himself, and kept his mouth shut.

* * *

The Shadow of Madarame was a coarse and vulgar thing, even more so than the sleaze of Kamoshida's crown and pink speedo. His kimono yellow as the yellow of his distorted eyes.

"Sensei!" Kitagawa said, and to Goro's disbelief he lifted his hands in surrender and approached the man. "Don't you think it's time to... stop? You're a great master whether you hold new exhibitions or not. Your _legacy_ is secure. These allegations are mere whispers for now, but soon they will spread if we are not careful."

_We?_

"Kitagawa," Goro said. "He's not your master."

"He is the true self, is he not?" Kitagawa wet his pale mouth. "Let me appeal to him. I can make him see sense."

"He is a _distortion_ ," Goro stressed. "Madarame's desires have warped him beyond belief to the point of becoming _this_ thing. He is not someone you can reason with. Not until..."

Not until you beat him to a pulp and steal what he treasures most in this world.

"You have your methods," Kitagawa said. "Let me try mine."

Behind him, Skull's fists crackled with silent energy. Panther tensed her grip on her whip, and Mona unsheathed his knife.

Goro watched, and thought of nothing as Kitagawa approached the silent Madarame and embraced him.

"Surely," he said in his low lilting voice, "you have made enough money, Sensei. You have been praised in enough publications, you have held enough exhibitions. It was necessary before, perhaps, to maintain your reputation, but now you are adored by all of Japan! What reason is there to continue this charade? Has it not all been enough?"

Madarame lifted his aged hand, and stroked the boy's hair.

"Dearest Yusuke," he murmured as he took Kitagawa's shoulders and squeezed them in comfort. "Blessed child o' mine."

"Sensei," Kitagawa said in awe, and Goro despaired.

Madarame's hand whipped upward and backhanded Kitagawa. " _Yusuke_ ," he said, and a smile unfurled on his face as joyous as rain, as rotten as corpses. "It is you who misunderstand. _There will never be enough in this world for me._ "

Clouds of black smoke billowed behind him and left Shadows in their wake.

"You want to take away my art, Yusuke?" screamed his master. "My legacy? What gives you the right, boy? _What gives you the right to rob me of everything I've stolen from you!_

"Shadows!" he bellowed. "Kill them all!"

* * *

Goro's heart and mind were as one.

Megidola. Hamaon. Bufula. Diarama. Maragion. Maragion. Guard. Shoot. Critical.

All out attack.

Kitagawa lay slumped on his knees when they went to him, holding a hand to his bruised cheek.

"Let me," said Mona, with Diarama on his lips, and Goro said:

"No."

"Crow," Panther said. "He's hurt."

Goro shook his head. "We need it more right now. Besides, he's mostly just shaken."

"You mean you want to keep going?" Skull looked anxious. "Look, man, maybe we should regroup and try again tomorrow."

"Safe room," said Goro. "At the very least."

* * *

"When you see your master again tonight," said Panther. "The real one. He's not going to know what happened in here. So don't be too surprised if he just treats you like normal." She hesitated. "At least, I hope he does."

"Yeah," said Skull. "Wait until he _knows_ you're pissed to take him out, man to man."

"I..." said Kitagawa blankly. "Naturally. Man to man."

"Here," Goro said, pressing a can of Earl Green into his hand. "Drink this before we leave."

"Akechi-san." Kitagawa's hand caught his wrist before he could pull away. "May we talk? In private?"

"Not in the Metaverse," said Mona. "We're protected from Shadows only in safe rooms."

"In... the real world, then," Kitagawa said. "Considering all that's happened today, I think you owe me."

"I do," said Goro. “All the same, I’d rather not get caught when Madarame comes home.”

“You won’t,” Kitagawa promised. “There is a room in the house that is locked at all times. Even Sensei does not access it very often. There… I want to show you something. Something to help you understand both Sensei, and me.”

“What is it?”

“A painting,” Kitagawa said, and smiled. “A painting Sensei never sold. The painting that inspired me to become an artist.”

“The legendary Sayuri,” said Goro. “I’ve heard of it.”

“But never seen in person, surely,” said Kitagawa. “There is no imitation. Sensei does not even sell prints of it. He has allowed me to see it only a handful of times. It might fall apart in the light otherwise.” He lowered his gaze. “I… cannot deny Sensei’s crimes any longer. Not after all those portraits, and his… confession. But once there was a gift in him as sure as the heavens itself, and when he bore it he painted the Sayuri. If you see it - “

“I’ll understand,” Goro said.

“Yes.” Kitagawa bowed his head.

“Kitagawa-kun,” Panther said in a slow tone. “What does this Sayuri look like, by the way?”

“An exquisite young woman with a black braid of hair,” murmured he. “Wearing the deepest red dress, and looking gently downward. What mysteries lie in her tender gaze?”

“When we were poking around the house,” Mona said. “We… may have lock picked open a door or two. And if what you’re saying is accurate, then we’ve _seen_ the Sayuri.”

“You broke into Sensei’s most private sanctum?” Kitagawa looked distraught. “Have you no shame? Akechi-san, your friends are truly something else.”

“It was my idea,” Goro said.

“Oh.” He winced. “I am… disappointed, then. I thought better of you.”

“Yeah, but cool your jets first,” said Skull. “Because we didn’t see _the_ Sayuri, we saw _a_ Sayuri.”

“More than one,” said Panther glumly.

“More like _hundreds_ ,” said Mona.

“Imitations,” realised Goro.

“Oh, please.” Kitagawa laughed. “That is the most ridiculous thing you have said all day. There is only one Sayuri. Sensei would never disrespect his own legacy by making copies - and doing what? Hoarding them all for no apparent reason?”

“It makes sense,” said Goro. “If he’s selling them.”

“They’d have to be to private collectors. It would get out in a heartbeat if it was museum,” said Mona.

“You mean he’s lying to people?” Panther gasped. “Telling them all they’re buying the real Sayuri when they’re all fakes?”

“Seeing that guy in action,” said Skull. “It’s not so hard to believe, is it?”

Kitagawa closed his eyes. “I refuse to acknowledge it. There is only one Sayuri. Sensei would never…”

Goro put a hand on his shoulder.

“Yusuke,” he said, and took off his mask. “Show me.”

* * *

“Ah,” said Kitagawa. “I don’t… Sensei, why would you? Your own masterpiece…”

He sank to his knees and wept.

“Kitagawa-kun,” Ann said. “Maybe you shouldn't see your master right now.”

“Y - yes.” He got up with trembling legs. “I have nowhere else to stay at the moment, though.”

“No room at _my_ place,” said Ryuji. “My mom would kill me.”

“The security at my building is super strict,” said Ann. “Plus they know I live alone. They'd call my parents immediately.”

“I live with Crow,” said Morgana. “You could - “

“No,” said Goro.

“Yes,” said Kitagawa.

"My living situation is - "

"This was all your idea, dude," Ryuji pointed out.

He couldn't win this. "Fine. Get your things."

"Thank you," said Kitagawa, and the five of them left that dark room together.

* * *

 Kitagawa was packing up his necessities in his room when Goro heard a rattling sound downstairs and swallowed. "We need to hide."

"Oh shit - the closet!" said Ryuji, and ran over to open it. "Come on!"

"You mustn't do that," bellowed Kitagawa as a mountain of old art supplies and books and rags tumbled down onto Ryuji and sent him sprawling onto his back.

"Yusuke! What was that noise?"

Morgana leapt back into Goro's bag, which Ann snatched up. "Senpai, what do we do!"

"Nothing," Goro said gloomily as the door opened and Madarame Ichiryusai stepped into the room and saw them - Kitagawa kneeling in front of a half-full suitcase, Ryuji knocked onto his back with the contents of Kitagawa's closet emptied onto him, Ann smiling frozen against a wall with Goro's school bag suspiciously behind her... and Goro, sitting seiza with a resigned expression and his phone out.

"You," said the artist.

"Us," said Ann.

"Hey there," said upside-down Ryuji.

"Madarame-san," said Goro.

"... Sensei." Kitagawa got up slowly and faced his master. "It's true, isn't it."

"Is what true, Yusuke?" said Madarame, gaze still travelling as he spoke.

"You've been copying the Sayuri." Kitagawa clenched his hands into fists. "I saw in your inner sanctum. The paintings - "

" _You went in there?_ " The artist looked disgusted. "Yusuke. You _appall_ me. Have I not always told you to respect your master's privacy?"

"Why are there so many of them!" Kitagawa shouted. "Are you selling them, Sensei? Are you?"

Madarame grit his teeth. "A child would never understand what I've had to endure all these years. So _what_ if I am selling them, Yusuke? I have every right to. The Sayuri is mine. What right do you have to it as if you painted it yourself?"

Kitagawa's shoulders sagged. "It was the painting that led me to follow in your footsteps," he whispered. "I thought it was sacred to you, as it was to me."

"It is my _property_ , Yusuke. And I will do with it as I see fit."

Goro got up. "Perhaps," he said. "But Kitagawa-san is not. We will be leaving now."

"Got it!" said Ann. Ryuji scrambled out of the mess and wiped down his shirt.

"Sorry," he mouthed to Kitagawa.

"What?" Madarame sneered. "What is the meaning of this?"

Kitagawa bit his lip. "I cannot stay in this house right now. I will stay with a friend, and perhaps - if you acknowledge your sins to the world and atone, I will reconsider coming back. Until then - "

" _You_ ," said Madarame, and stared at Goro. "You did this. That scene at the exhibition. You put him up to this."

Goro held up his hands in surrender. "Sir, your pupil is a thinking man as any other," he said. "If you respect him, you will take his advice - his consideration for you - to heart."

"Consideration." Madarame laughed. "No, I will do one better for you little thieves." His eyes glittered. "Trespassing. Breaking and entering. Destruction of property. _Kidnapping_."

"What? Sensei, but I let them in! Surely you cannot - "

"Leave with them, Yusuke," said his master. "And you will see how much I can do exactly as I please."

"I... see." Kitagawa deflated. "You must all go," he said, head to the ground. "There is no point discussing any of this further."

"This is bullshit," Ryuji hissed. "You're gonna let him manipulate you again?"

"Come with us," said Ann. "Please."

"I'm sorry," Kitagawa said. "I've made my choice. Please leave now."

Goro touched him on the arm.

"Akechi-san," Kitagawa said. "It seems all you have done has been for naught. I... apologize for wasting your time."

"Not at all," Goro said, and kept his voice kind. "We'll see you tomorrow, Kitagawa-san."

* * *

 He wasn't home when they came the day after.

Nor the day after that.

Trying to call or text was similarly fruitless. Goro received so many automated responses he nearly threw his phone into the trash. Only the thought of inquiring to Boss again - begging troublesome Futaba's help - stopped him from doing any real damage to the little machine.

"Where the _hell_ did Madarame take him?" Ryuji kicked the railing in the Shibuya passageway. "How the hell are we going to do his Palace now?"

"Technically, we don't need him," said Morgana. "There's still the four of us. We could do it today."

"... yeah," said Ann. "But senpai wants him here with us. Don't you?"

Goro couldn't deny it. "Ann," he said. "What if after we came back from Kamoshida's Palace with you the first time, I told you that you couldn't come back and fight with us?"

"I would have been furious," she said. "I wanted to hurt him more than anything."

Even if in the end she gave him more mercy than he ever deserved. "It's the same for Kitagawa-san."

"Is it?" said Ryuji. "No offense, but that guy’s cold as a cucumber. Even after all Madarame’s done to him, he doesn't seem that angry about it."

"Madarame raised him," said Morgana. "No wonder he'd feel torn."

"Yes," said Goro. "But I still want to try. Give me one more day, and if we still can't get in touch we'll go into the Palace without him."

"Sounds good," said Ann. "It sucks that we don't know where he could even be at this time of day, though."

"Wait," said Goro. His mouth was dry. "I remember. He told me he goes to Kosei High."

"That's a start," said Morgana. "But how are we going to sneak in there?"

"We're not. I have an inside source."

* * *

"Huh?" said Futaba that evening in Leblanc. "You want me to do what now?"

The girl had been visiting the cafe more and more lately, and staying until closing too. Isshiki-san her mother was a government researcher who worked long hours, and Futaba, despite her (or due to) her attitude didn't seem to have much in the way of friends to distract her. Whenever she came she would sprawl her belongings over an entire booth, typing away on her laptop and snacking the whole time (while Boss didn't say a thing about outside food in the cafe).

Goro mostly ignored her when working, though for Boss' sake he was always polite. Now she looked at him over the rim of her oversized glasses and added, "What's in it for me?"

"I have money."

"What, really? How much!"

"Five thousand yen," Goro said. "To send him a message at school. He doesn't have to respond."

"Interesting," said Futaba. "I want the deets though. You got something going on?" Eyebrow waggle.

"... will you not help me otherwise."

"I don't know! Will I?"

Goro pinched the bridge of his nose.

No Metaverse nonsense. He had already gotten Kitagawa involved because of his... feelings. Futaba was just his guardian's friend's daughter, and as far as he knew no one around her had a Palace or a Shadow to conquer.

"I... want to meet up with him in private. Tell him something I don't want anyone else to overhear." He crossed his arms. "I hope you understand that's as far as I'm willing to divulge private information."

Futaba stared at him with round eyes, and when her mouth opened he cringed in preparation.

"That's... genuinely sweet," she said. "Alright. I'll do it."

Goro sagged in relief. "Thank you."

"Pay me, though," said Futaba, and held her hand out.

"Let me get my wallet."

* * *

 He got a text from her during his afternoon history class.

 **Futaba** : Done, done, and done!

 **Futaba** : He said he'd think about it.

 **Goro** : Thank you.

 **Goro** : You have no idea how much this means to me.

 **Futaba** : Oh but I think I do.

 **Futaba** : You have good taste if I say so myself!

 **Futaba** : wink

 **Futaba** : winky wink

 **Goro** : Please stop.

 **Futaba** : ...

 **Futaba** : ...

 **Futaba** : wink

* * *

 He was there when they arrived.

"I'm ready," said Kitagawa, and Goro's heart swelled.

* * *

 The Shadow told them things.

It told them how Madarame had always felt about Yusuke.

How he felt about his former pupils, his lost apprentices.

About the one who got away too. Yusuke's mother.

The Sayuri was her work.

(Had been.)

Madarame had stolen it from her, as he had everything else.

As he stole Yusuke too, by letting his mother die in front of him.

(What could Goro possibly think about someone like that, save that his lungs suffocated with rage _and nothing else_ \- )

* * *

 Kitagawa Yusuke said, "I refuse to let this abide," and doubled over onto the ground. Screamed, and clawed his hands until his nails broke away and wept blood and agony.

Goro stared, and was proud as a father.

From the embers of grief and regret emerged the graceful brushstroke that was Fox.

The Artist was nothing in comparison.

Then again, it was five against one.

* * *

(Madarame spoke of someone he called a warden. A man in the guise of a prison guard, with a killer's hands and dull eyes.

"You're not alone here," he said, crawling backwards as they approached. "Please! _There's someone else like you!_ ")

* * *

 "Thank you," said Kitagawa, holding the wrapped Treasure to his chest as the Metaverse melted back into reality around them and once more they were in front of Madarame's shack, and nowhere else. "Letting me decide what to do with Sensei's heart was..."

"It was your decision," Goro said. "And no one else's."

Ann laid a hand on Kitagawa's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "When we fought Kamoshida, I had to make the same choice," she said. "And it was... tough. I wanted to hurt him so badly for what he'd done to everyone. Maybe even kill him." She pursed her lips. "But that wouldn't have helped my friends get true justice if he died. The school would have covered up his sins, and..."

"It's better this way," said Morgana. "This way, the truth is out and both Kamoshida and Madarame will atone for their crimes."

"Sensei too?" said Kitagawa.

"Yeah," said Ryuji. "It might take him a couple of weeks to come back to his senses, but it'll happen sooner or later." He grinned. "Welcome to the team, by the way."

"Me? A Phantom Thief?" Kitagawa chuckled nervously. "Well then, if you'll have me, I gladly accept."

"Crow, say something!"

"Oh." Goro cleared his throat. They were all looking at him. "Are... you hungry?"

A sound curdled out of Kitagawa's stomach like the opening of a rusted door.

"I," he said, "am _famished_."

* * *

 _Itadakimasu_.

As the Thieves' orders piled up in the Shibuya diner Goro feared for his wallet, but only smiled when they called over the waitress over and over again. They deserved this. Kitagawa in particular was skinny as a bare branch. He deserved every bite and morsel in the city.

"So," said Ryuji over a mouthful of steak and potatoes, "you going to live in the school dorms now?"

Kitagawa nodded gravely over his second fruit parfait of the evening. "That was where Sensei sent me to stay anyhow, when he ordered me not to see you all anymore. I will come back to check on his status, but I do not deem it wise to associate with him any longer as it is."

Beside him, and feeding Morgana peeled shrimp under the table, Goro said, "We put you in a lot of trouble. I'm sorry about that."

"It's quite alright," Kitagawa said. "I understand your reasoning, in any case."

"You're one of us now," said Ann. "I don't know what's going to happen to Madarame, but we've got your backs no matter what. So come to us if you need help, got it?"

"Teamwork," said Morgana, "makes the dream work."

"Thank you," said Kitagawa, his eyes glimmering with tears.

"Hey, you going to cry on us, man?"

"He's just emotional, Ryuji! Be happy for him!"

"I am, I am! Just - where are the napkins already?"

"Here, Kitagawa-san."

"Thank you, Akechi-san."

* * *

"Good! You're here," Boss said when Goro entered Leblanc later. "I need to run an errand for a bit. Mind closing for me?"

"No problem," he said, and walked past a customer to go behind the counter.

"You hire a part timer, Boss?" said a low voice as Goro put away his school bag and slipped his apron on.

"As if Leblanc gets enough business for one," Boss scoffed. "This is Akechi. He's the scholarship student I told you about earlier."

Goro tied his hair up in a ponytail and smiled. "I just help out whenever Boss needs me," he said. "Do you come here often?"

The customer had a rat's nest of thick black hair that shielded his eyes when his head was bent low. A black bomber jacket with a stylized red eye hung over his chair, and on the next chair over a messenger bag in the same style.

"Just recently," he admitted. "I don't have much in the way of free time lately, but Leblanc has a good vibe. Chill." He grinned. "Might just make it my new hangout, you know?"

"We could always use more customers," Goro said, as Boss grumbled somewhere in the background. "Your cup is empty. Can I get you a refill, sir...?"

"Kurusu," the customer said, and looked up at Goro with grey eyes and a killer smile. "Kurusu Akira.

"And I'd love a refill. Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And like that... the Madarame arc is over.
> 
> Plus, the head rando himself just showed up. Yo, Akira! Hope your Confidant Link with Goro goes better than in canon... or else.
> 
> Not much to add, besides that I hate writing (and playing through) dungeons and skip through them as fast as possible. Yeah.


	7. Prove your justice to society I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Goro wears himself out, yet keeps going.
> 
> Oh, and Makoto shows up! Plus some other guy. Who is he anyway?

**7\. Prove your justice to society I  
**

Madarame confessed.

Kitagawa came to Leblanc the day after, and unveiled the Treasure in front of them.

"It's a baby," Ann said. "So that's what the real Sayuri was like..."

"Gotta say, I like this way more than the copies," said Ryuji. "You going to cry again, dude?"

"No. I..." Kitagawa shook his head, but his gaze was wet.

"She must have cared about you," Goro said.

"More than I could ever imagine." Kitagawa wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. "I'd like to leave it here, if I could. As a gift of appreciation for helping me see the truth that was always in front of me."

"It was our pleasure, Yusuke," said Morgana.

* * *

 Life returned to normal after that, and Kitagawa became a part of Goro's afternoons once or twice a week after school. The boy enjoyed people-watching in Shibuya, enjoyed popping into Mementos for inspiration while Goro kept guard (and wondered _why_ ), enjoyed a great deal of things more in life once Goro realized his questionable financial situation and prepared an envelope for him when necessary with the words FOOD + EMERGENCIES ONLY after he learned his lesson regarding inspecificity the first time.

His own cash flow was more than productive. He had begun working for Iwai some evenings, and Dr Takemi was close to making a breakthrough. In the Velvet Room as well...

"Flauros with Tarukaja, inmate!" snapped Caroline. "What are you waiting for!"

Fun.

Ryuji was coming closer to resolving his lingering regret over the track team, and Goro visited Mishima's physical therapy sessions with Ann and Suzui when invited. Sitting there in a chair and watching with them as the boy strained and sweated and screamed to keep himself up was its own kind of hell.

He scratched Morgana's head as he observed yet another physical therapy session and wondered what would happen if they took Mishima into Mementos and peppered him with Diarahan.

Would it work?

Could it?

Would the others even let him or scold him for thinking the Metaverse a solution to all of society's ills and problems?

There was something going around in the air. Rampage incidents, the news called it, even if it wasn't strictly accurate. The incidents were few in number, but widely publicized due to the prominence of its so-called victims: CEOs, police chiefs, prosecutors, hospital directors, even actors. The most high-ranking members of society, and therefore the most important.

Some called it the celebrity disease, since normal people didn't seem to be affected - not that much could be said about a disease that purportedly had less than three dozen victims so far.

Others found the term tasteless. Making excuses for people who just snapped and hurt others in their wake. They weren't the victims. They were _perpetrators_.

What if some people were just sick in the head and needed to be taken down?

Goro didn't know, and cared only because some people in the media had begun to accuse the Phantom Thieves of being associated with the rampage incidents, especially since Madarame used their name in his broadcast apology.

He wasn't sure what to think of his group's mixed reputation in the public eye - whether it mattered being _famous_ at all - but it frustrated Suzui to see people badmouth them even on the Phansite. She was their greatest defender, even if it was perhaps taking time away from other parts of her life.

He didn't say that. He couldn't. Much as they occasionally spent time together, it was almost always Phansite-related. She didn't seem interested in talking about the past, and Goro couldn't make her.

Now that a Palace didn't loom over their heads, Goro had taken up some of Nijima's requests as well. Most of it was busywork around the school - informing janitors about cleaning blind spots, suggesting to the conbini lady to sell yakisoba pan every day, getting the rooftop re-opened to the students (new barriers had already been put up, so what was the delay?). In other words: tedium.

Some of it was more... questionable, and though Nijima informed him she had a belt in aikido and had taken several classes in First Aid and crisis management, topics like bullying and abusive relationships seemed like a job for the Thieves instead. The group was no longer surprised when Goro came to their hideouts with his own list of requests.

"That's our leader, alright," said Ryuji. "Working harder than any of us. Take a break sometime, dude!"

About that.

Goro was exhausted.

In between helping his friends and society with their problems, his various jobs and obligations and a weekly Mementos trip to stay in shape and top off their funds (Iwai's guns did not come cheap), he'd had little to no time to himself since taking down Madarame.

And since he was such a dutiful student at school, a teacher had asked him to chaperone a second-year class field trip to a TV station, and Goro been so out of it he agreed without thinking.

Something needed to give.

* * *

"Well, you look like shit," remarked Kurusu as Goro entered Leblanc five minutes before closing and sat down at a booth and collapsed.

"Hah," he mumbled. " _Shh_."

"You're not working him down to the bone, are you, Boss?" he heard Kurusu say, and Boss replying in outrage:

"I'm not doing anything! And stop annoying him already."

"Sorry," Kurusu said, pure glib, and from a distant grumble and ringing of the door bell Boss had gone out for a smoke.

Silence. He could get used to this.

A shadow over his eyes. Why.

"Hey," said Kurusu, sliding into the seat across. "Seriously. Are you okay?"

Goro lifted his head and rubbed his eyes. "Exquisite," he said, and the look on his face made the other boy laugh.

"Tell me about it."

Goro screwed his eyes shut. "I'm... to accompany some juniors at school to a field trip for the next two days. Foolish. I have no idea why I agreed."

"Hm. Sounds terrible. Where are you heading?"

"A TV station."

"What a coincidence. So am I."

Goro opened an eye to glare at him. "Kurusu-san. I've told you before: I'm not a fan."

"Yes, I remember you saying  _very_ huffily that when it comes to the law you respect Shirogane and only Shirogane," Kurusu said with a grin. "But you know perfectly well I'm not with the police. I'm a private eye."

Who just happened to also be a high school student with a marketing gimmick as ludicrous as the Phantom Thieves', and liked to tease Goro whenever they were in Leblanc together.

The boy sipped his coffee. "In all seriousness though. I'm guesting at a show. It'd be fun if we saw each other."

"I'm afraid I'll be too busy herding cats to make any promises," Goro said. "You'll be working as well. I doubt the distraction will be worth it."

" _Akechi_. Live a little."

"That's the last thing I want to do right now. I need to..." He slapped himself on the face. "I need to close up."

"Wait." Kurusu reached for his pocket and pulled something out. "If you're really so hard up I know someone who's great at stress management."

It was a business card. Goro stared.

It was pink.

With glitter.

And there was a silhouette.

Of a _woman_.

"This is a maid service," he said, and crushed it in his hand. "You've mistaken me for someone else entirely."

"No, no - " Kurusu raised his hands in surrender. "Not like that, jeez! They give massages! Really good ones, and completely on the level."

"If you have to even say that - "

"Akechi," said Kurusu. "I solve crimes for a living. I'd never put you in any harm."

"No, you go to _school_ for a living," said Goro frostily. "And solve crimes on the side. Some of which are - the reasoning on your cases was very sloppy! A child could have done better!"

"Oh," emerged a white fang from the boy's smile. "Continue."

"I decline," said Goro, and got out of the booth. He tied his hair up and grabbed an apron and a rag. "I could not desire anything more."

There was a silence. Then -

"Less," said Kurusu. "You meant to say  _less_."

"Leblanc is closed," said Goro. "Goodbye."

* * *

Before he left, Kurusu smoothed over the card Goro had all but trashed and wrote on the back: _Ask for Becky. Doesn't ask questions and she's pretty funny._

He left another business card on the table, one in black with that terrible red eye looking up at Goro. In white ink: _I'd love to know more about how faulty you think my reasoning is. Most people don't have the guts to say it to my face. Any time you're free - Kurusu_

Despite his self-preservation crying out for mercy, Goro added both numbers to his phone, and put the cards away.

* * *

"This," said Ryuji the day after, as they escaped the vapidity of a TV show backstage and found a private hallway to bicker in, "sucks."

"I agree," said Goro. "The explanations are insultingly simple. An elementary schooler could grasp what they're telling us."

"At least we don't have to go to class today," said Ann, stretching against a wall.

Goro frowned. "Yes, both of your grades last midterm were dismal."

"We _maaay_ have been doing something more important than studying? Right, Ann?"

"Uh, yeah! Right, senpai?"

"Kitagawa is top ten in his grade at Kosei," Goro said. "Just an idea."

"No more study sessions, I'm begging ya."

"And how often do we get a free day like this? Let's look around and explore the area."

"We could go to the arcade," Ryuji said with a sly grin.

"I need to get a replacement lipstick - "

"I'm feeling a craving for pancakes myself," Goro admitted.

"You are _obsessed_ with that stuff. Is it 'cause we passed by Dome Town earlier?"

"There are... many toppings," he said defensively. "More so than I ever expected. What about you, Morgana?”

Morgana jumped halfway out of his bag and perched on his shoulder. "Don't forget! Boss told us to help out at Leblanc today. We can't stay out too long."

"What's the occasion?"

"A friend's coming over for dinner," Goro said. "He wants me to be there."

"Let's just hope he doesn't serve coffee and curry again. We've been eating that stuff for a week straight."

"Boss' cooking is fine and you know it," Goro said, scratching him on the head. "So, where should we go after?"

"Why _not_ Dome Town?" said Ann. "There's tons of rides, good food, stuff to look at and buy."

"Yeah. Not that you can go on the rides, Morgana."

"What, because I'm a cat?"

"Uh, yeah. You'd fall right out of the seat!"

"Oh..."

"Perish the thought," Goro said. "I'm sure there's other doings to do."

"Ri - right! Why does it matter if - "

"Hey. What are you guys talking about?"

Morgana yanked his head back into Goro's school bag, and Kurusu of all people wandered into view. God, but he was wearing his full getup, and Goro resisted the urge to laugh. Black jacket with the red eye, bag with the red eye; did his underwear say peekaboo too? He didn't look like a private detective; he looked like a _model_.

"Oh," Kurusu said, and grinned. "Akechi! I was wondering where you were. These your juniors?"

"Yeah," said Ryuji. "Who the hell are you?"

"Kurusu Akira, private eye."

"Kurusu...?" said Ann. "You mean _that_ Kurusu? Senpai, you know him?"

"He comes to Leblanc once in a while," Goro said.

"I'm half their clientele, actually," Kurusu informed them. "Akechi told me you were coming here today."

"And tomorrow too, don't forget," Ryuji muttered.

"Hey, you might even be in the audience for my show."

"Show? You a celebrity or something?"

" _Yes._ Ryuji, how do you not know!" said Ann before Kurusu could open his mouth. "He solves cases even the police can't get to, and he's _really_ popular."

"Aww. That's nice of you to say," said Kurusu. "I've been on TV once or twice. But I'm glad if you've been watching me." With a wink to Ann.

Too much. "I'm afraid we have to be going now," said Goro. "You must be busy too."

"Always am," Kursu drawled. "I should head to my briefing anyhow. Enjoy that curry, yeah? I would kill for some right now."

"Curry?" said Ann. "We're going to Dome Town."

"Oh." The boy shrugged. "Sorry. Overheard you talking about Leblanc earlier. Gave me hunger pangs just thinking about it."

"The shop's closing early today," said Goro. "So don't fantasize about it too much, I hope."

"Akechi. You break my heart," said Kursu, even fake-clutching his chest before standing up straight. "Have fun."

* * *

Goro ate his pancakes.

* * *

 He arrived at Leblanc that evening with two bags' worth of groceries. Boss looked up and said, relieved, "Good. We've still got an hour, so let's wrap things up and head over."

Customers were still in the cafe, an aged couple with a single cup of coffee between them. "What's the occasion?" the man said, interested.

"A dinner date," Goro said, and smiled when Boss spluttered.

"It's nothing like that - and wash the dishes! Futaba's coming too."

Goro went to work, and the couple soon left. At home Boss set Goro on prepping the ingredients for a hamburg meal. The man didn't trust him yet to cook the patties lest they turn out half-raw, but Goro had gotten much better with a knife over the months and could peel and cut carrots and potatoes in a reasonable amount of time,

It was all cooking away and Boss working on the miso soup when the bell rang, and Goro opened the front door.

"Yo, nerd!" said a familiar voice, and well, Futaba was Futaba. She kicked off her boots and jumped onto the genkan, sliding on the wooden floor with her socks on.

"Futaba," said a low voice. "Show some manners. Put on some slippers."

Standing still in the doorway was a tall, glasses-wearing woman with a sharp black bob and all-black attire. As Futaba obeyed with a grumble on the tip of her tongue, Goro bowed. "You must be Isshiki-san. Welcome to Bo - Sakura-san's home."

The woman regarded him. "Likewise," she said, closing the door behind her, and did she sound amused? "Sojiro's told me a lot about you, Akechi-kun."

"All positive, I hope?" he said, as they all went to the living room. Futaba belly-flopped onto the leather sofa and immediately pulled her phone out, while her mother took a chair.

"Mostly," she said, and Goro choked.

"Mostly? What have I been doing wrong?"

"Says the guy who brings bags of trash in to Leblanc every day and makes me pass messages along to hot boys at my school," Futaba said in a deliberate not-whisper. "Admit it, Akechi. You're sketchy."

Goro literally could not comment without making it worse, so he turned to Isshiki-san and clasped his hands. "Could I get you something to drink? Dinner will be done in just ten, and - "

"Sojiro, I hungeeerrrr!"

From the kitchen, a distant: "It's coming, Futaba! Just wait!"

"Futaba, please," said Isshiki-san. "Yes, barley tea would be fine."

"Ramune for me."

"Oh, we don't have that."

"Wanna get it?"

"Barley tea," Isshiki-san repeated, and sighed. "I'm sorry my daughter is being a burden to you right now."

"I'm not, Mom!" Futaba said, outraged, while Goro wanted to dunk his head into sand and stay there.

"It's... no problem at all," he said, and went over to the kitchen before an argument broke out in front of him.

Boss was grumbling over the stove when Goro approached.

"What's wrong? Demi-glace not coming to?"

"No, it's - it's fine," the man said. "I just..." He sighed, and turned the burners off. "What did they want to drink again?"

"Barley tea. I can get it," Goro said. "If everything's done, you should sit down and talk with them."

Boss looked at him with a hand on his hip for a while, then slumped and undid his apron. "Thanks, kid," he said. "You know you can tell me anything, right? Not like I'll rat you out to your old place if you get into a bit of trouble."

"I... know," said Goro. "What's your concern?"

"Just. Ever since that scumbag Kamoshida got fired from your school - "

"It's alright," Goro said. "The Phantom Thieves took care of him."

Boss' eyes widened. He shouldn't have let that slip.

"So you think they're the real deal too, huh."

"One... is a coincidence," said Goro, deliberating over his words. "Two a pattern." He smiled. "Not that I'll be bellowing out my support for them from the rooftops."

Not like Kurusu, who even now was making a show of praising the Phantom Thieves and saying how touched he was they were inspired by him.

(They weren't. Goro hadn't heard of Kurusu's name in the public eye until only a few months ago, and neither had anyone else. How did someone who was such a flash-in-the-pan _tarento_  like Kurusu have the right to pretend himself an icon?

... he couldn't remember how the Thieves had first decided upon their calling card design.)

"Besides," he said. "Things have been calm at school lately. There's not much to complain about."

"I guess," said Boss. "Just don't keep it all to yourself. I'm your guardian, not a watchdog. I'm on your side."

"I know, sir," Goro said.

* * *

Dinner was hamburg steak with a side of carrots and potatoes (the demi-glace was indeed very good), miso soup with tofu and white rice. The four of them sat at the dinner table, and the disjointed atmosphere around Futaba and her mother was nowhere to be seen. Even Goro felt able to banter, with Boss lounging in his chair, Futaba demanding seconds and staring mournfully at Goro's plate while she was served, Isshiki-san sipping a glass of wine and chuckling on occasion.

It felt homey.

"And then on Superstar Galactica Z Warriors episode eight hundred and twenty-three - "

"No more!" Boss groaned. "Kid, you know any of what she's talking about?"

"Not at all," Goro said, Futaba sticking her tongue out in protest. "I've never had the chance to watch much anime before."

"Which explains why you're such a stick in the mud!"

"Futaba," he said, leaning forward. "I let you stay in Leblanc for hours when you don't order a single item. You occupy one-tenth of the cafe's seating on your lonesome, and I have yet to kick you out for it."

She narrowed her eyes and matched him stance for stance. "That's Sojiro's prerogative, not yours. Plus, what could you even do to me? You can barely take the garbage out."

"My fitness has improved considerably since I arrived."

"Hundred pushups," said Futaba. "Right here. Right now."

"Futaba! Please!" Despite her words, Isshiki-san was laughing. "You shouldn't bother your seniors like that."

"That's right," said Goro. "You should call me senpai." No one in his social group did so, not even Kitagawa, whose acknowledgement of Goro's elder age went to thanking him profusely every time Goro treated him to a meal or passed him one of his sacred money envelopes so he wasn't reduced to nibbling on expired bean sprouts and mushrooms he harvested from the underside of city trees.

"Treat me like a junior," said Futaba. "Seriously. Treat me."

Goro's funds were for other necessities. "Come to Shujin first."

"No, _you_ come to Kosei! Your _fox_ of a boyfriend's there anyway - "

There was a phone ring, and Isshiki-san got up. "Sorry, I should get this," she said, and went into the hallway.

"Alright, stop bickering," said Boss. "It's getting pretty late. Kid, mind getting the dishes?"

"No problem," Goro said, and started collecting them. Futaba watched him as he worked with her hands on her chin.

"So... have you seen any anime? At all?"

"A little Featherman, when I was a boy." It kept him entertained, like it did the other children at the home; they'd sit still for hours on the floor, popping VHSes in and out while adults worked around them, thankful for the silence.

Her eyes turned into marbles. "Watch it with me."

"Why would we watch an old show together?"

"Akechi," Futaba said. "There are _sequels_."

"I'll have to think about it," he said, balancing the lot of dishes on his arm. "See where it fits into my schedule." Wink. "Being a stick in the mud and all."

"Oh, _you!_ "

He crossed the hallway to get to the kitchen, glancing back at Isshiki-san. She was standing by the genkan, phone pressed to her ear, and whatever conversation she was having with the person on the other end was going poorly.

" - we have everything we need, we've done the research and waited months for approvals! Why is he trying to prevent us from releasing our work to the public now? That's not his - "

He shouldn't be eavesdropping. He put the dishes in the sink and ran the tap, while around him conversation flowed as the water streaming through his hands.

"So how's school, Futaba?"

"Easy peasy! Kosei's supposed to be for the gifted and all, but honestly I'm running ropes around the rest of 'em. It doesn't help that the teachers ask _me_ for tech support, but - "

"This is because of the coming election, isn't it? He's just an elected representative, what right does he have to interfere with our work like this?"

"You better not be changing your grades - "

" - course not, Sojiro! Just rounding them up once in a while."

"Someday you're going to be in real trouble, young lady."

"I have spent years on this. Research involving the cognitive world is my project, and if he thinks he can threaten to cut funding if we don't do as he says then he's got another thing coming. That wretched Shido Masayoshi - "

Goro dropped a plate.

It smashed into a dozen pieces and scattered under the counters, the fridge. He swallowed, and examined his hands. No cuts.

"What's the matter?" Boss said, rounding the corner. He saw the mess and sighed. "Greasy fingers?"

"My bad," Goro said blankly.

"Just get the broom and dustpan. I'll take over."

"Ri - right." He stepped over the mess carefully and retrieved the tools from the hall closet. Boss had already collected the larger shards, and Goro swept up the rest and deposited them carefully into the bin.

"Hey." The man clasped his shoulder, and Goro stared at him. "You've helped me out a lot today, yeah? Don't think I don't appreciate it. Just sit down and relax. You've earned it."

"Of course." His words didn't sound like himself.

When he came back Isshiki-san was pulling on her coat, and Futaba glowering in a ball in the living room.

"Futaba," the woman said in a strained voice. "Let's go home. I have to go back to work."

"No, you don't," the girl said, crossing her arms. "You _want_ to go back to work. Even on a day we promised we'd spend together."

"Things came up - "

"Things always come up! This isn't fair. For once I want us to be together as a family and watch crappy old shows with Sojiro and _this_ nerd over here and - "

Oh, right. Goro was in the room with them. Still. Somehow.

"Futaba," said her mother, and a cold tone had overtaken her. "I'm sorry, but sometimes other things are more important."

"Yeah. Like the cognitive world," Futaba sneered. "More important than your own daughter, right?"

"... if that's how you see it," said Isshiki-san. "I couldn't possibly argue." She looked at Goro for the first time since he'd come in. "Akechi-kun."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You're a hard-working student," she said. "Walk Futaba to the station later, can you?"

"Mom!"

"Yes, ma'am," Goro said, and watched Isshiki-san leave the house while Futaba put her hands up to her face and began to cry.

Goro then turned heel and left to his room.

Morgana was asleep on his duvet. Goro shook him awake and the cat jolted. "What? What?"

"Emergency situation," Goro said, standing over him in the dark.

Morgana could hear Futaba sniffling too, and groaned. "Like Mishima? That was _not_ a fun day for me - "

"I'll get you anything you want. Anything."

"... show me the way." Morgana unfolded his body and let Goro carry him back out.

Boss was there too now, and when he saw Morgana in Goro's arms he stepped aside gratefully. How pathetic they both were at delivering comfort, Goro thought, and placed Morgana down on the spot beside Futaba.

"What?" she hiccuped, when the cat bumped his head against her knee. "Where did you come from?"

"Meow?" said Morgana with his bright blue eyes, and nuzzled her hand when she brought it down to stroke him.

"You had this guy here all along," Futaba said in a scratchy voice, "and didn't show me? You suck, Akechi."

"I guess I was just holding back," he found himself saying, "for when something like this was needed."

" _Mrr?_ " said Morgana, and booped his nose against Futaba's.

"... thanks." She took her glasses off and wiped at her eyes. "And thanks for nothing, Sojiro!"

"Sorry," the man said.

"Yeah, I know you can't say anything about Mom anyway. Okay, okay, I'm not sad anymore." Hugging Morgana as she said this, glaring at the two of them. "So will you both sit down or are you gonna keep looking at me and giving me the creeps?"

"We'll sit down," Goro said.

"Yeah. Um, you want to watch something for a bit? Damn, where's the remote - "

"Don't need a remote," Futaba mumbled into Morgana's fur. "Got a phone. I'll just stream it." She lifted her head. "Akechi, get over here. We are watching some Featherman, and I am _not_ leaving until you get hooked."

* * *

It was nearly ten when Boss made them stop, and Goro walked alongside Futaba in the dark as they headed to the station.

"Sorry about earlier," the girl said in a small voice. "It must have been awkward, watching me and my mom fight."

"Family is complicated," Goro said. "I know."

She gave him a side glance. "Do you?"

"... I don't know what you want me to say to that."

"Something like  _don't be disrespectful to your mother Futaba_ , or _you should be grateful you have parents at all_. Blah blah - " She cut herself short. "You wouldn't say something like that. I don't know why I even implied it."

"I don't live with the two of you," Goro said. "I don't know your situation."

"It's not like that." She grimaced. "Mom is just stressed out lately. Okay, she's been stressed for a long time, but it's just the assholes at her work! She's not like that naturally." She pushed her glasses up her nose. "It used to be better. She had more free time, and we'd do stuff together. Go places. But now - "

"You must have looked forward to this dinner," Goro said.

"Yeah," Futaba said. "I did."

She scuffed her shoe on a telephone role as they passed. "Mom's been working on this project for the government for years now. _Super_ -experimental theoretical research about this world of cognition that overlaps on our own and supposedly makes people's consciousness manifest in weird ways... that's as much as I know," she lamented. "I tried looking up files on her laptop at home once, and she totally freaked out on me. Said it was top secret and I could be sent to juvie for breaking the law or something. For just reading some encrypted files?"

"That seems like a warning to take seriously," Goro said, keeping his hands gripped tightly, _tightly_ at his back.

"I know," said Futaba. "I was just curious too. I wanted to... maybe if I could help her out - " She stopped. "That sounds dumb, doesn't it. Like, what could I do to help Mom when she doesn't even want me around half the time."

"I'm sure that's not how she feels," Goro said. "She must love you."

"A lot of people tell me that," said Futaba. "So I guess it must be true."

They were at the station. He ought to say goodbye now, and prepare for tomorrow.

"Futaba," he said. "What you said before, about watching anime together..."

"Oh." She scratched her ear. "Yeah, that was a bit much. We don't have to. I know you're just tolerating me for Sojiro's sake - "

"I want to," Goro said.

"You do?" She squinted up at him. Suspicious. "But you said the episodes we watched were boring!"

"I may have been... not telling the whole truth," he admitted. "It was fun."

"You liar." She snorted. "Cheat. Sketchy. Sketchy Akechi."

"What I mean is - I enjoyed it. Spending time together. It doesn't have to be anime, but just doing things? You spend a lot of time at Leblanc as it is, so - "

"Ouch," Futaba muttered. "But true."

" - and I'm free. Occasionally." He smiled. "How about it?"

She thought it over. "Only if you bring Morgana."

"I knew you'd like him. Is it a deal, then?"

"You dork! Of course it's a deal." She bumped his shoulder with a fist. "I take back everything I said about you, Akechi.You're not bad at all."

"And neither are you."

"Nerd," she said, and rolled her eyes, with a smile as big as the morning sun. "See you later."

"Have a good night, Futaba," he said, and waited until she got onto her train and it zoomed past him before he turned and made his way home.

* * *

 That night he went to the bathroom with Morgana sleepily protesting, and lifting his phone up to his mouth, whispered, "Shido Masayoshi" again and again into the Metaverse App.

_Target found._

_Target found._

_Target found._

He said, "Diet Building," next and the App spoke in affirmative.

Then:

"Castle."

_No candidates found._

"Battleground."

_No candidates found._

"Prison."

_No candidates found._

"War."

_No candidates found._

"Opportunity."

_No candidates found._

"Greed."

_No candidates found._

"Despair."

_No candidates found._

"God damn it!" He hit the mirror with a fist and felt it shudder under the force. "Damn it," Goro whispered, and put his phone away.

"Kid? You alright down there?"

"Ye - yes," he called out as he left the bathroom. "Sorry, it's nothing to worry about."

Boss was silent, and Goro's bedroom dark when he opened the door and let himself back in.

Morgana padded to his side when he lay down in bed and began to nuzzle his hand. "What are you doing?" he said hoarsely.

"Seems like you could use it," said Morgana. "I heard you trying to use the app, you know."

He closed his eyes. "Morgana..."

"We don't have to tell the others."

His lip curled. "But you want me to tell you. Why?"

"... because I'm your friend, Goro," said Morgana, his tail swishing like a feather duster over Goro's slack hand. "And I care about you. I _am_ allowed to care about you, right?"

Goro chuckled. "Yes, you are." He lifted his hand and stroked the cat's head. "That's the first time you've used my name. Always called me Crow, even in the real world."

Morgana ducked his gaze. "I never knew if you wanted me to use your name like that."

"The others call me just about anything," Goro said. "I'm surprised you felt differently."

"I _am_ different from the rest of you. Remember?"

"I remember," he mumbled. "The hunt for your human body continues."

"It does. And when I get it back I'll be even taller than you."

"Of course." He sighed. "Morgana, I can't... tell you right now. It's a long story, and I don't feel comfortable sharing."

"Take your time, then," the cat said. "Just don't do anything reckless like go into the Metaverse on your own. We're a team, and a team means everybody's gotta have each other's backs. Promise?"

"Yes," he said. "I promise."

* * *

He slept poorly.

The morning after they were in the audience of the show Kurusu was guesting on, and while Mr Third Eye himself was bright-eyed and slyly sparkling as usual, Goro felt like several nails had been hammered into his head, and every time someone spoke too close to him another one just gouged itself deep inside and made him ache.

Which meant, of course, that the co-host trawling the audience for reactions came to _him_ , and held the mic up under his chin before he could protest in weak-willed defense.

"So, young man," the host said, as Kurusu stared at him with a stupid grin on his face, "what do _you_ think of the Phantom Thieves?"

"I... um..." Oh no. This was not happening. He was not bombing on national TV because of parental angst. Not now.

"It looks like our guest didn't get a lot of sleep last night!" said the co-host. "Maybe we should switch to another audience member?"

If they interviewed Ryuji or Ann it would be a disaster. Goro opened his mouth when Kurusu said: "I'm interested in his thoughts. Just give him a minute."

Oh. Goro narrowed his eyes. That was suspiciously nice of Kurusu.

He cleared his throat and began again, "I... personally believe the Phantom Thieves of Hearts don't exist. But if they did, I would not be on their side."

"Dude, _what_?" Ryuji hissed besides him.

Goro ignored him. "Mandating a change of heart in someone seems just, but in the end, doesn't that just rob someone of their agency? The kind of person that Kamoshida or Madarame was would have never atoned for their crimes before the Thieves went for them."

"Isn't that a good thing?" said the host. "Don't we want people to recognize the harm they've done to society and turn themselves in?"

"What I'm saying is," said Goro. "These changes of hearts may have fundamentally transformed the characters of the Thieves' victims to the point they may not be themselves anymore. So even if they do atone, it's not the same person." He hesitated. "Is a butterfly responsible for the crimes of a caterpillar?"

Ann sucked in her breath, and Goro thought, _stay the course. Divert attention._

"Same body and mind, isn't it?" drawled Kurusu. "If the Phantom Thieves hadn't gotten those guys to change their minds, then who? Who do you think should have done it instead?"

"The law," Goro said, and saw the boy blink and lean back. He added, "There would have been no need for the Thieves if the police had done their due diligence and investigated Kamoshida and Madarame when the allegations around them first showed up."

"So you're saying it was the cops' dereliction of duty that led the Thieves to exist."

"They failed," said Goro. "And in doing so, left a vacuum for others to succeed."

"Just like me," said Kurusu, and his smile briefly curdled.

"That's right!" said the co-host, oblivious. "Kurusu-kun here became a detective due to an incident regarding the police in his own past."

"Not like that," Kurusu said, and his grin was stapled to his face again. "Someone close to me got hurt, and the police didn't take them seriously. I couldn't stand nothing being done to apprehend the criminal, so..." He lowered his gaze, and a sigh swept through the teenaged audience like a wave in high tide. Goro curled his lip. He must be enjoying this.

"You won't find anything about it online, of course," the Third Eye added. "Privacy laws and all. We don't want anyone snooping through the lives of private citizens, do we?"

" _Nooooo_ " rang the audience like a chorus of mockingbirds, and Goro pressed a hand over his lips and breathed in through his mouth.

"We'd love to keep chatting with Kurusu-kun, but - " the host was saying, and like that the shoot was over. As they got up to leave Ann bit her lip and said, "Senpai, did you really mean that? About our - the Thieves' change of hearts?"

"Of course not," Goro said. "I was just thinking aloud. Theoretically."

"You did it pretty well, then," said Ryuji.

Goro studied the two of them. "Are you mad," he asked.

"It would have been way cooler if you defended us," the boy muttered.

"Kurusu was already doing that. It would have been dull. But..." He pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry if I gave the impression I didn't believe in the cause. I just thought it would have been more suspicious otherwise."

"Yeah. I get it," said Ann. "Even if Kamo - you-know-who's a different person now, I still don't regret anything. We made the right choice."

"I think so too," said Goro, and set her mind at ease.

* * *

Kurusu caught him on the way out. "Hey. That was a pretty spicy conversation earlier."

"Was it?" said Goro. The others were already ahead of him, and Morgana was fidgeting in his bag. "I was..." Well, no need to be hostile. "It was fun. Maybe."

"Let's chat again," said Kurusu. "Seriously. I enjoyed hearing how you truly felt."

"Really," Goro said dryly. "You're aware I've never made a single positive comment to or about you in the short time we've known each other."

"At least you're honest. Most people either just suck up to me or dismiss me as some snotty brat with an anti-cop gimmick." Kurusu smiled. "I feel like you take me seriously, you know?"

"It would be churlish not to," Goro said. "You being who you are."

"See? You use the thousand yen words too. I'm a big fan of that."

"Oh, stop!" He couldn't help a laugh. Now that Kurusu wasn't sashaying about for an audience, his mannerisms were far more tolerable. "You're just saying that so I'll give you free refills at Leblanc."

"Will you? Because I've got a lot more compliments coming your way if so."

"Kurusu-san," Goro said, and the boy stilled. "I have to head back to my group. I can't have them wandering off without me."

"Gotta chaperone," Kurusu said, and his smile seemed a little smaller. "Yeah. Got it. My offer's still standing, though."

"Which one? You or the potential sex crime?"

"Hey now. Becky is _legit_." Kurusu held up his hands, and Goro wondered why someone as casual as him wore gloves indoors. Fingerless, yes, but still a ridiculous sight. "I meant me," he added. "Despite the prissy attitude, you don't hold back - " Goro snorted. " - and I'd like to talk with you more."

"Really," Goro echoed.

"Over coffee at Leblanc," said Kurusu. "Or elsewhere."

Goro said nothing, and wondered what the boy wanted from him.

Surely he didn't know. Surely.

He was getting better at making bonds with people, but to be prompted like this out of nowhere from someone who was mostly a stranger... and a celebrity besides -

He couldn't help it. It was flattering. People never used to want him like this.

It had been a long time since he had thought about the law. At the institution, yes, always conscious of the chains around him, and so bitter -

But since coming to Boss' place and going to Shujin? Being the leader of the Phantom Thieves had consumed all in his mind, and left scarce breathing room for much else.

How badly he once wanted to be Shirogane. Would have killed to stand next to her and hold his head up high.

Now he stood in front of the one people called her second coming and wondered if this was the closest he would ever get to his former aspiration - wanting to be an ace detective. Help the weak and arrest the unjust. Right wrongs, and be adored for it.

It was so silly. So stupid. Kurusu was an oddball in the public eye. Adored by many of his peers for his debonair ways, his good looks and irreverent charm, for cracking the cases the cops couldn't.

The police hated him for the very same reason: for thumbing up his nose at them, for refusing to cooperate and coordinate research with them, for never letting them have a moment's rest when he was prowling. Justice never slept, after all.

In the end, wasn't that what the Phantom Thieves were doing as well?

Wasn't there an opportunity here for Goro?

(And for Crow?)

"If you insist," he said finally, and saw the smile elevate Kurusu's pale face like a dawn over a dark night. "I suppose it could be interesting."

"Fun," said Kurusu.

" _Enlightening_ ," emphasized Goro. "To put our minds together and... solve a few cases. If you'll let me."

"If I'll let you," Kurusu repeated. "You have no idea the whirlwind you're about to unleash right now."

Goro shook his head with a smile. "I'll see you later, Kurusu-san," he said, and walked away before the boy could respond.

Morgana popped his head out of Goro's bag as he turned corner and said, "That went well."

"Yes," Goro said. "It did."

* * *

 Arrangements about spending time with Futaba or Kurusu regardless, Goro had other obligations, and when he headed up to the student council room the day after, he saw Nijima slumped over a table with her arm over her face.

Sliding the door shut behind him, Goro said, "Is something wrong, Nijima-san?"

"Oh! Akechi-kun." She shot up in her seat, and yes, there were visible shadows under her eyes and her headband was askew. "Excuse me. Things lately have just been so..."

"Difficult?" 

"Exactly. I'm sorry to be bothering you with another request again."

"Not at all." He pulled a chair out and sat down. "So what is it this time?"

Nijima sat up straight. "Have you heard the rumours regarding Shibuya?"

"Ah," said Goro. He went there often - to visit Kitagawa and Ann, work for Iwai... and now volunteer once or twice a week for the disgraced politician named Yoshida Toranosuke. "You mean the rumours about strange men offering students money for little work, then entrapping them into unsavoury endeavors later on."

"Yes." She leaned forward. "It seems more students from Shujin are getting entangled into this, and I'd like to check if what they're doing is honest or not."

"I can't imagine it is," Goro said. "The mere idea seems ludicrous."

"I know." Nijima sighed. "For now I'd just like us to ask questions around the school - but me being who I am, it's been quite hard getting students to tell me anything. It might go down better if you were with me."

"I suppose I do give off that criminal impression," Goro said dryly.

Nijima blanched. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I'm just teasing, Nijima-san." He got up. "Shall we start, then? If you have any names - "

* * *

"It's no good," she sighed only a short while later. "The students really don't trust me, and they're not willing to open up to you, either." Nijima bit her lip. "When did people lose their trust in the Student Council?"

 _Did they ever have it?_ thought Goro. "What about all the good deeds you and I have been doing all this time? Surely they're grateful for that."

Nijima shook her head. "To tell you the truth, most of what we've been able to achieve has been... minor. Somehow the students aren't very impressed the school store now sells yakisoba every other day, instead of just Friday. They think it's the Principal allowing us these small victories too." She leaned her head back against the wall and crossed her arms. "Especially since some of the more difficult requests have resolved themselves out of the blue. Isn't that strange? How does someone just suddenly _stop_ bullying or using another student when they have every incentive to keep going?"

Apart from _his_ lot, that was.

"It's not like we know what goes on outside of school," Goro said. "Perhaps people are being influenced from elsewhere."

"Influenced?" She frowned. "Like from the Phantom Thieves?"

"I meant - "

"It does make sense, doesn't it." Nijima stepped away from the wall. "It's likely the Thieves are from Shujin as you well know, Akechi-kun."

"I couldn't possibly be sure of a statement like that," said Goro.

"Who else would have targeted a mere gym teacher for their first change of heart? Think about Madarame's public confession as well, and the way some of these problems on our suggestion board have been solving themselves without the two of us getting involved. It can't be a coincidence."

"... perhaps," said Goro. "But is it relevant whether they go to Shujin or not? They're not breaking the law - if forcing someone to have a change of heart could even be considered _illegal_  ."

Nijima stared at him, lips pursed together. "It... is relevant, unfortunately," she admitted, and Goro's stomach dropped. "The Principal asked me to look into the Phantom Thieves, ever since Kamoshida turned himself in. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any clues, but if my suspicions are correct, they're still active. Possibly right in my line of sight." She set her shoulders straight. "I know I'm already presuming a lot on your time, Akechi-kun, and if you refuse I completely understand."

"But," said Goro.

"I'd like you to help me identify the Phantom Thieves of Hearts," said Nijima. "I want to - no, I _need_ to find out who they are."

"And then what?" said he, and kept his hands locked behind his back. "Do you plan on helping the Principal and turning them in? Even though they ousted Kamoshida and protected the student body?"

" _No_ , Akechi-kun," said Nijma Makoto. "No, I believe the Phantom Thieves are doing the right thing, and I want them to help us."

* * *

 "It's a trap, dude," said Ryuji when they met up in the passageway later. "Don't fall for it."

"I have to agree," said Kitagawa, who appeared to have gained weight since the last time Goro saw him. He was still svelte, but his jawline was now less pronounced and his collarbones less exaggeratedly gaunt.

(Not that it mattered, so long as he was healthy.)

"Nijima's one of those people who kept quiet about Kamoshida all this time," said Ann, hands on her hips. "So for her to suggest she wants to work with the Thieves and not turn against us the first chance she gets... I'm sorry, senpai, but it just sounds shady. There's no way we can trust her."

"Nothing says we have to," said Goro.

"What does she even want anyway?" Ryuji scowled. "I know you like your after school projects with her, but - "

"I spend time with you as well, Ryuji," Goro reminded him.

"Yeah, but come on. She's going to narc on us in a second!"

Pressure in the form of small paws sank onto Goro's shoulders. "It's not like we have any targets at the moment though."

"You can't be serious, Morgana."

"We still have Mementos," said Ann. "Don't we have that abusive boss to take care of?"

"We do," said Goro. "We should head there now, in fact."

* * *

 As Shibuya Station distorted under their feet and around them, Kitagawa - now Fox murmured, "You seem reluctant to condemn this Nijima-san wholly."

"I find her company intriguing," Goro said. "Even if we come from entirely different backgrounds. She wishes to do her best with the authority she upholds, even as it constrains her more than it liberates."

"I see." The boy looked contemplative. "Would you be receptive to welcoming her to the Thieves if necessary?"

"I doubt that's wise at this point and time. We're large enough a group as it is."

"You brought me in quite readily." Kitagawa hesitated. "Do you ever..."

"Never," said Goro. "I've always been appreciative of your presence, Kitagawa-san."

"As I yours." A smile, genuine, and utterly free of artifice. "After this, I'd like to impose on your time."

"Please do," said Goro, conscious of Skull crossing his arms and waiting for them alongside Panther and Mona by the entrance turnstiles.

"I was considering a visit to Sensei's home once more," said Kitagawa. "Yet feel uncomfortable at the prospect of heading there on my lonesome. Would you like to come?"

No. In all seriousness, no. But Goro was burdened by this chain called friendship, and an overwhelming need to help someone who liked him. Why else would he console Ann when her rival Mika insulted her in front of their industry peers or let Suzui babble on about the Phansite and the ways she was increasing the Thieves' popularity, even as her hands shook and she constantly tapped her foot as if agitated?

"Certainly," he said, and felt small and queer when Kitagawa beamed and said:

"You are a true friend indeed."

* * *

With Shiki-Ouji the Shadow of Odo Nozomi was a paltry beast, and holding his Treasure, a book regarding Chinese sweets, Goro thought about pushing it onto sugar-tongued Ann, or Kitagawa the epicure.

He kept it for his own, since once in a blue moon he found a seat on the train to school and could use some light reading.

He bid the others farewell and went with Kitagawa to Madarame's old house, aware as ever of the pinching strain in his legs. They had gone to Mementos only for Odo and hardly fought a dozen Shadows to get him, and yet Goro was drained. Perhaps it was the mere act of switching realities that fatigued him so - but even Kitagawa appeared perfectly fine.

Maybe it was just him.

Yellow tape was papered over the front of the house, and while Goro felt little qualm about tearing it off the door, he realized the main problem - it was jammed shut.

"I don't wish to break it open," said Kitagawa, looking regretful. "Yet..."

"I'm sorry," Goro said, wiping his hands on his pants. "I don't see how I can open this right now." Not with his oafish sense of proficiency still.

"Next time, then," said Kitagawa, and the aura between them as they walked back to Shibuya Station was one of wasted potential.

The days after found Goro in semi-futile interrogation mode at school. Somehow his reputation was changing from antisocial institutionalized freak to uptight type-A suckup, and the sight of him walking the halls with Nijima sent the less aspirational half of Shujin's students fleeing.

There was nothing to be done. He called in Ryuji and Ann for assistance and got names, motives, and a location in five minutes flat - which led him and Nijima on a precious Sunday off in Shibuya, wearing their uniforms in conspicuous fashion and trying to look idle and shiftless and motivated by want of cheap money as possible.

"I'm quite grateful for your friends' assistance," said Nijima with her hands clasped in front of her.

"They're resourceful," said Goro.

"They're an eclectic pair though, no? Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san. Both second years. An odd choice for someone in your position to make friends with."

"I'm afraid no one in my class has yet to take an interest in me," said Goro. "And beggars cannot be choosers."

Nijima's eyes crinkled. "I'm sure that's not true, Akechi-kun. You're just in and out of the classroom so quickly no one has a chance to make conversation even if they'd like to. And many do - or so I've heard.

"It is funny, though," she added. "Both of them were involved with Kamoshida before he turned himself in."

"That man's list of victims was quite extensive," said Goro, hands in his pockets. "It's just happenstance, surely?"

"Once is a coincidence," said Nijima. "Two, I'm afraid, is a pattern."

Goro smiled, and prayed it didn't look as tight as he felt. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean by that, Nijima-san."

"Kamoshida was your homeroom teacher," said Nijima. "Did he ever say anything to you?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I lacked the athletic ability to attract his attention in the first place, so..."

" _So_ ," echoed Nijima, switching targets. "You're acquainted with Suzui-san too, I hear."

And Mishima through his recovery period, though Goro's main responsibility there was to bring Morgana to entertain the boy and then excrete half his wallet in a high-end sushi place after. "Forgive me, Nijima-san," he said. "But shouldn't we get back to work? Stimulating as this conversation is, we hardly appear to be the ideal targets standing together and gossiping as we are."

"You think we should split up?" Nijima said, and Goro nodded. Her nostrils flared. "Very well."

"I'll head to the underground walkway," Goro said. "There are always homeless people there - perhaps they'll know something."

"And I'll investigate the alleyways," said Nijima.

He nodded and turned to make way, only for her to add, "Oh, Akechi-kun?"

"Yes, Nijima-san?"

"I don't think of what we do as gossiping," said she. "Believe it or not, I've always enjoyed our conversations together. Even our first time."

"Certainly." He smiled. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"Good luck, Akechi-kun," she said, and began walking away.

"Stay out of trouble, Nijima-san," he called out, and watched her go until she turned a corner and disappeared out of view.

* * *

  **Yusuke** : How is your investigation going with Nijima-san? Are you getting anything useful?

 **Goro** : Unfortunately not much beyond some vague warnings from the local indigent association. Whoever these scammers are, they clearly aren't picking people at will to suck in.

 **Goro** : I thought I'd be a perfect victim, but...

 **Ann** : It's because you have a fighting spirit, senpai.

 **Goro** : ?

 **Yusuke** : She's right.

 **Yusuke** : Perhaps you're unaware but when you walk you carry a powerful stance.

 **Goro** : Me?

 **Goro** : Surely you're mistaken.

 **Ryuji** : Cut it with the false modesty dude.

 **Ryuji** : Yeah you look like a dweeb but not someone people want to mess with.

 **Ryuji** : Like whenever you bring out a new Persona with some move the rest of us don't have yet I feel like shitting my pants.

 **Yusuke** : Vulgar, yet strangely appropriate. Thank you, Ryuji.

 **Yusuke** : Do I seem more authoritative as well lately?

 **Ann** : ...

 **Ryuji** : ...

 **Ann** : ...

 **Yusuke** : Your silence is perturbing, yet not unexpected.

 **Goro** : I hope your weekends are proving more productive at the moment.

 **Goro** : Ann, is Morgana doing well at your place?

 **Ann** : Morgana. Is. Delightful!!

 **Ann** : I'm so glad you let me borrow him for the day.

 **Goro** : Trust me, the honour is all his.

 **Ryuji** : I'm on break from helping my mom out at the shop.

 **Ryuji** : Anything but washing more dishes seriously!!

 **Yusuke** : I am always on the hunt for a new muse.

 **Ryuji** : Oooh you hear that Goroboy? Yusuke here's gonna replace ya.

 **Goro** : Must you?

 **Ryuji** : When you say it like that...

 **Ryuji** : Yeah!!

 **Yusuke** : What an offensive suggestion, Ryuji. Akechi-san is still my most important model. He just happens to be busy right now.

 **Ryuji** : Uh uh.

 **Goro** : I beg you all to stop immediately.

 **Goro** : For my sake.

 **Ann** : Okay well.

 **Ann** : I'm just painting my nails right now while waiting for Shiho.

 **Ann** : Free yoga session at Inokashira Park soon if you're interested.

 **Yusuke** : That sounds like a marvelous idea! People-watching in Shibuya Station has not been a source of inspiration lately...

 **Ryuji** : Don't be a creep dude.

 **Yusuke** : ?

 **Ryuji** : People don't want to be gawked at by some rando while they're bending and all sweaty and stuff.

 **Ann** : I know I wouldn't.

 **Yusuke** : I see. I had no idea.

 **Ann** : Just ask permission first and it'll probably be fine, Yusuke!

 **Ann** : You always look like you could use more fresh air to be honest.

 **Ann** : Isn't that right, senpai?

 **Ann** : Senpai?

Another chat window popped up, and Goro switched over.

 **Nijima** : It's Nijima.

 **Nijima** : I think I'm close and I need your help.

 **Nijima** : Come back to Central Street asap.

 **Nijima** : First alley on right

 **Nijima** : akechi i

 **Nijima** : hrelre

Goro ran.

* * *

 For all his months in Palaces and trawling dungeons in Mementos, Goro hadn’t thrown a punch in the real world in years, and only ever before in self-defense. Summoning Personas to shock enemies for him or stunning them with make-believe bullets was not the same as training in martial arts, or boxing.

Was not the same as being able to jump into battle when he didn't have Recarm on an ally's lips or one of Boss' curry packages to devour in a safe room and keep him going.

And yet, when he ran into the Central Street alley Nijima wrote of and found her about to be hogtied into the trunk of a car by three greasy-looking men, Goro knew that hesitation meant failure, and he could not fail.

"What do you gentlemen think you're doing?" he said in as cold a voice as he could muster, and threw the first punch.

Unfortunately one of the man caught his punch, and grabbed his wrist so tightly he thought it might break from the crushing grip.

Unfortunately the next man banged his head against the side of the car and rendered Goro both speechless and pliant as a doormat.

Unfortunately he and Nijima shared the trunk of that car together, breathed in the same filthy soaked secondhand smoke and tasted sweat and fear and humiliation together.

"I'm sorry, Akechi-kun," Nijima mumbled, her voice so small the burr of the car's engine nearly drowned it out.

"Don't be," said he, sucking on his uninjured bottom lip. His top half was beginning to puff out. "In retrospect I have no - " The car drove over a speedbump, and he gasped as it jostled his arm. Struggling to finish: "... no idea why I thought attacking at first sight would help."

"I know aikido," Nijima said. "I've been training since I was a little girl... and yet I just froze up. All that preparation vanished the moment they surrounded me." She turned her head away - as much as she could in this repulsive, confined space and let out a sob. "Fuck."

"Fuck," Goro echoed.

"Do they think they're going to kill us?"

The patchy ragged felt of the car vibrated against Goro's ear painfully; he was half-numb on that side, and twitched to recover feeling, a sense of normalcy in this abnormal space.

"Knowing their type," he said, "I'm sure they have something planned much worse."

"Oh," said Nijima, and Goro thought she might cry.

But she was silent the rest of their journey, and so was he.

* * *

 They were dragged out of the car and into the heady noise and seedy atmosphere of a host club. Nijima was allowed to remain standing, but one of the men kicked Goro down onto his knees and kept his hands bound behind him.

"Oh," slurred a man's voice. "And who are these brats supposed to be?"

Goro looked up and saw a short stout man in a dark blue suit and slicked-back hair staring at them from a plush sofa, a female companion in a low-cut dress by his side. A glass table full of emptied drinks, full ashtrays and other consumable trash segregated the man and Goro and Nijima.

"That's him," Nijima said, breathing heavy and ragged. "Kaneshiro Junya. The one who's been scamming students all over the city and using them." Exhausted as she looked, dried tear tracks on her face, she balled her hands into fists and said, "People like you are the scum of the earth."

"Aw, is that so, sweetheart?" drawled Kaneshiro. "I'm glad you have such a high opinion of me. And what's the other snivelling kid doing here?"

"I'm a concerned citizen," Goro said, and got a whack on the back of the head for it. He grimaced, tasting hurt.

"He came running in when we were talking to little Nijima-chan over here and tried to show us what," said one of the men with a sneer in his voice. "Too bad he's got no juice though."

Nijima had gone deathly pale at the mention of her name. "You - you know who I am," she said, and Kaneshiro and his men laughed.

The woman besides him smiled, but looked away when Goro stared at her. She wasn't a part of this, and didn't care to be.

"You think I wouldn't find out who's been nosing around my runners and trying to get them to fess up my name for a week now?" said Kaneshiro, twisting a thick gold ring on his finger. "Nijima Makoto. Shujin Academy school president... and little sister to Nijima Sae, Tokyo prosecutor." His wide lips curled into a smile that took up half his face. "I'm sure your big sister would be disappointed if she found - " The sound of a phone camera shutter went off. " - you and your runty boyfriend in a place like this, don't you think? Talk about shaming the family name."

More shots, this time of Goro's bruised face and bent position.

"You just had to be a big damn hero, didn't you, kid?" said Kaneshiro, watching him. "Let me tell you this now: spending any time and money on high-maintenance gals like her isn't going to get you anywhere. Spend a night with Koko-chan instead, yeah?"

He grabbed his companion's breast to demonstrate, and Goro closed his eyes. Nijima made a sound like a mouse being crushed underfoot.

The woman - Koko-chan - made no sound at all, but her expression when Goro saw her again was dull.

"Why don't we make a deal?" said Kaneshiro. "Mophead. Forget your girl and start running a few deals for me. Guys like you aren't so bad once you get trained, and maybe I'll lend you Koko-chan once in a while. If you make your quota, that is."

"Don't!" said Nijima. She looked mortified. "Akechi-kun..."

Goro tasted metal in his mouth.

"Interesting," he said. "But one-sided. What'll happen to Nijima-san if I agree?"

"Come on, kid. _Use your imagination_."

"Then no," said Goro. "I'm sorry, but we're a two-for-one deal."

"Really?" said Kaneshiro. "Even better, then!" He kicked one leg up onto the glass table, knocking over several bottles and a puff of cigar smoke. "How about this? I let you two go now, and you pay me for the honour. Three million yen in three weeks."

"That's ridiculous!" said Nijima. "Who has that kind of money?"

Kaneshiro regarded her coldly, then snorted. "Yeah, you're right. There's two of you, so double it. Six million."

"What? But that's so unfair!"

"Or what," said Goro. "What'll stop us from just leaving town and getting away?"

"Nothing," shrugged Kaneshiro. "I mean, apart from me leaking these stimulating photos of you. Not only will you both be expelled from school, but the cops are going to _love_ knowing how you ended up in a place like this, and... Nijima-chan?"

"What," said Nijima with gritted teeth.

"I hate to see what would happen to your sister the hotshot prosecutor with photos like this of little Makoto all around town," said Kaneshiro. "Haven't you caused her enough trouble already? Ever since your father died - "

"Shut up! Shut up, now!" Nijima surged forward and tried to punch Kaneshiro. Goro's leg whipped out first, and he tripped her. She stumbled, but thankfully didn't smash her head against the glass table.

"Akechi-kun! What the hell!"

"We'll take the deal," Goro said. "All of it. You'll have your money in three weeks' time."

"Now we're talking!" Kaneshiro laughed. "I knew you were the sensible one. Teach Makoto here some manners sometime, will you?"

"Of course, sir," he said, and smiled, even as the ropes Kaneshiro's men had tied around his wrists rubbed so tightly the skin there was coming undone in welts and strips. "We'll see you later, Kaneshiro-san."

"See you later, Mako-chan," said Kaneshiro.

* * *

"Six million yen," said Nijima blankly, as they were dumped back onto Central Street and Goro was left rubbing his wrists and sucking his lip in to keep from groaning aloud. "Even Sis doesn't have that kind of money lying around." She sank onto the ground and buried her face in her hands. "What the _hell_ do we do?"

"Give him a taste of his own medicine, I suppose," said Goro, wetting his top lip and wincing when it was stung. Where was Ann and her compact when he needed her?

"How can you be so calm right now."

"Cheer up," said Goro. "At least I didn't throw you to the wolves."

"Yeah, thanks." She looked away with a grimace... then sighed.

"Thank you," she said, in a quieter voice. "I don't know what would have happened to me if you had."

Goro knew.

"I suppose your sister wouldn't be able to help us right now," he said, easing himself down to sit on the curb besides her.

"No." Nijima lowered her eyes to the ground. "Sis is.. believe it or not, she's working the Madarame case."

"Really," said Goro. "For some reason I'd assumed - "

"He'd go to jail right away since he confessed, right?" Nijima grimaced. "He defrauded a _lot_ of people over the years. They're crawling over her workplace trying to get their testimony in, and Sis is responsible for making sure it all makes sense and doesn't weigh her case down. If she finds about us, I..." She closed her eyes. "I can't afford to distract her. Not when she's working on the case that could make or break her career."

"Even if it means ruining your own life?" 

"It's either me or her," said Nijima. "And right now... I'm the one responsible. Just me."

"Are you so sure?" he asked her. "I'm involved too, remember."

She twisted her mouth into a scowl. "By my choosing."

"I could have said no."

"The thing is," said Nijima. "I don't think you would have. You don't seem that type of person."

Goro's own smile dropped. "That's not true," he said, when he was sure she couldn't look at him. "The truth is, I'm more selfish than anyone else in this city. Maybe even all of Japan."

"More than Kaneshiro?"

"Much more."

"I don't believe you," she whispered, and Goro wondered how he could make her see the truth right in front of her. It was so close.

"You know," he said. "I might know how to get that kind of money."

"No kidding. How?"

"I work a few part-time jobs."

"You're a student. How could you be working enough to make that kind of money - "

"It's not important," he interrupted. "The point is, Nijima-san, if needed I could come up with six million yen in three weeks."

"Okay," she said. "Okay. I believe you."

"But," he said. "I don't want to.

"I don't know as much about Kaneshiro as you do," Goro said. "But my first impression has soured me on him.

"I don't want you to get expelled," he said. "Nor halt your sister's career. You've been trying to help people. It's not your fault you got into a situation above your paygrade."

"I know." She sagged. "I _know_ , but after Kamoshida - what you said to me, and how the other students felt - " She swallowed. "You tell me I could have done nothing and still deserved the respect of anyone in Shujin Academy."

"It's not your fault," Goro said. "You're just a student, like me."

Nijima's gaze began to water. "I can't help anyone," she whispered. "Not Shujin's students, or my sister, or you, Akechi-kun."

"Yes," said Goro. "Right now you can't.

"But," he added. "I know people who can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What a doozy of a chapter. It's like I don't understand what pacing is.
> 
> (11k words in total!! Why!!)
> 
> Goro and Futaba... and Wakaba and Sojiro... all sitting at a table and eating hambagu together, briefly happy with good vibes going around. Not to mention the Morgana scene I added because I suddenly remembered he and Goro had no real private interaction in the story yet.
> 
> Ordinary high school student and private citizen Goro Akechi wants to vomit when people mug for the camera lol.
> 
> Anyway... Makoto is fun. She and Akechi have some interesting similarities so why not do more with them, Atlus? Why not? Plus me, also trying to figure out how to include Sae without a casino prologue uhhh.
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this. There is one more chapter left in the buffer, and then I have to sit down for a few days and actually think through the next Palace because Wakaba is alive dummy.


	8. Steal the mafia boss' heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaneshiro goes down, and Goro finally takes it easy and remembers the first rule of Persona protagonists: Confidants all day, every day.

**8\. Steal the mafia boss' heart**

He didn't go to Mementos.

He could have. Just the entrance, and a little of Kikuri-Hime's healing dust.

The twins, watching from their prison stoop as Goro heaved in front of them. No, human as they weren't, he couldn't bear to see them look at him in this wretched state.

Caroline would never let him live it down.

So he went back to Yongen, and to the clinic.

* * *

 "What on _earth_..." Dr Takemi dropped a full folio of patients' documents when Goro limped in that early evening. "Inside. Now," she ordered, and locked the patient room's door behind her.

"Tell me," she said in her clipped burr. "Were you tangoing with a rhinoceros before you came in here?"

"How..." said Goro, gritting his teeth as she applied disinfectant to the raw skin beneath his wrists. "Did you know."

"Cut the chatter," she snapped, and he was silent for several excruciating minutes as she did her work. "Let me see your face next.

"When you first came into my clinic looking for work a few months ago," Dr Takemi murmured. "I thought you were the good boy go-home-to-mother immediately type. Not _this_." She peeled up a chunk of hair that had dried on a bloodied spot on Goro's temple. He gouged his nails into the armrests of his chair and hissed.

"What are you doing to yourself, kid?"

"It's not me," Goro said. "I just happen to run in bad company."

"... fine. If you don't want to tell me, then I don't care. Just don't expect a discount today."

Sigh. He couldn't get away with anything nowadays.

"I ran into someone," Goro said, "who wanted to make me feel small and worthless and weak."

"Did it work?" Dr Takemi wiped the blood and dirt away from his face with disinfectant cloth.

"I was with a friend," he said. "I couldn't show it. Even if I was."

He swallowed.

"And I was."

The tension in her face slackened, if not the precision of her work. "I suppose there's a reason you're not going to the cops."

"They'd laugh in my face," he said. "Tell me I deserved it."

"Why?" she said. "You're a good kid, Akechi. Why wouldn't they believe you?"

Goro sucked in his lower lip.

"Dr Takemi," he whispered. "I'm not a good kid."

"Yeah, you've told me that before," she said, and when he jolted in his seat she added: "Sometimes you say things. When I'm running treatments."

"Oh." He closed his eyes. "Nothing too humiliating, I hope."

"No," said Dr Takemi. "Not where you're concerned."

An hour passed before she let him go, and despite his full wallet packed up a small bag full of medicine and told him to pay her back when he came around for work again. Goro hobbled back to the house and wrote Boss a cursory text about having a headache and going to bed early. Later, when the man knocked on his bedroom door he stayed silent until it stopped, and he heard the padfalls of feet heading upstairs.

He didn't fall asleep until one in the morning, of course. But at least the darkness stopped his head from throbbing.

* * *

"Hello everyone," said Nijima the next day after school in the passageway. "Akechi-kun told me you might all be of assistance to me."

"... yeah," said Ann, crossing her arms. "Yeah, we could."

But it was Goro she was looking at, and frowning.

Telling Nijima about their identities as the Phantom Thieves felt strangely anticlimactic, especially since she had suspicions about them already, only Kitagawa and Morgana unknown variables in her theory. Ann and Ryuji were hesitant about letting her into their growing secret, but both seemed to know they'd look monstrous refusing Goro when he was in this delicate state.

He knew that very well indeed.

Finding Kaneshiro's keywords was done easily even without Goro's input, and the most he did was watch Nijima's reaction as the Metaverse melted in around them. "O - oh!" she said, eyes wide and posture stiff. "This is... this is something else entirely."

"Magnificent, isn't it?" said Fox, his hand firm on Goro's back so he didn't stumble as they walked past defective ATM humans in the money-strewn streets.

"It's - Akechi-kun! Your clothes! What just happened?"

"Kaneshiro thinks I'm a threat," Goro said. "Good."

The rest of the Thieves' uniforms soon gave away to costumes themselves, and and Mona popped into two-footed existence. "Here," he said, and blessed Goro with a Diarahan.

It worked. At once his back slackened in tension, his skin didn't itch and burn, and he could stand up straight again. "Oh," Goro exhaled in sweet relief. "Thank you, Mona."

"Mona?" Nijima said. "Akechi-kun, _what_ am I looking at here?"

"Our navigator," Goro said. "Come on. We'll explain along the way."

The exotic UFO that circled the distorted skies of Shibuya sank to the ground as they approached, and laid out its hideous red carpet for them.

"Hey," said Skull before he went up. "You think you can do this? We can come back another time."

Goro shook his head. "The sooner the better. There's five of us anyway - I can stand in as backup for now."

"Very well," said Fox, and he was so close, _so_ close. A headache threatened to split Goro's mind again, and he thought absurdly of fleeing. He didn't want this. "Come, Crow."

"This way," said Panther tersely to Nijima. "You can't fight, so just stay behind us as much as possible."

"Right," said she. "I do know aikido, however. Just in case."

Panther's lip curled. "You'd be better off with a toy gun," she said, and walked into the Palace ahead of them.

"What does she mean by that?" said Nijima.

"Use your imagination, Nijima-san," said Goro, and avoided Fox's arm when the boy passed him up the ramp.

Even his back was beautiful. Goro turned his face and saw Nijima looking at him.

She smiled tentatively. He failed to smile back.

* * *

To awaken to one's Persona was to first undergo the living hell that was transformation.

When a caterpillar underwent metamorphosis its old body dissolved entirely into a mass of nutrients and goop inside a casing that rendered it helpless to all in its midst: predators, prey, humans with small minds and insensitive fingers. The butterfly that emerged - if it survived to do so - was another being entirely.

Crow was the Phantom Thieves' sharp-minded leader, the master of many Personas. Crow was elegant, a gentleman connoisseur. Crow would do well in 18th century European novels, where he would seduce exquisite damsels, protect the honour of kings, and slay the evil and corrupted in his midst.

Crow was a hero.

What was Akechi Goro, in comparison?

Akechi Goro was presently a hot mess of a person oscillating between one mood or another and unable to tell which or any was his true self or whether he had ever been born with one. Akechi Goro hungered for friends and accumulated them zealously only to polish them and lay them on the shelf like porcelain figurines.

(Akechi Goro gnawed on his feelings for one person in particular and denied them because he could not, _he could not, there was no room in him to_ \- )

Akechi Goro wished he was Crow all the time, but to be Crow thirty times a month and not just five would ruin Akechi Goro and lay his fragile self to utter and complete waste.

No one was born as naturally gracious and stylish as Crow. It just wasn't possible. He was melded from Goro's childhood fantasies and Robin Hood's blessing. Without either of those ingredients, the whole package fell apart. There would be nothing left of him but the shattered mask and pile of plucked down feathers, the scars on the small of his back no one else ever saw.

And what were the Phantom Thieves of Hearts without their leader, without their Prince of Crows, their young King in Yellow and Red and White?

Akechi Goro was tired indeed, and glad when Nijima Makoto tore her metal mask off with blood weeping down her Shadow-yellow eyes and Queen roared to thunder in her wake.

When the blinding blasts of her first Mafrei died out around them, there were tears in Panther’s eyes.

It wasn't forgiveness. Not yet. But her voice was a little kinder around Queen, and when they got to their first safe room Panther offered her the softest seat.

* * *

 They tore through Kaneshiro's Palace in three days straight, and Goro's legs quaked when they reached the Treasure at last.

"When should we send the calling card?" said Fox, and Goro said:

"Tomorrow."

"Uh - " Skull looked nervous. "Can we wait a day or two? At least?"

"I'm exhausted," Panther said. "And honestly Crow, you're looking run down yourself."

"I can't afford to miss any more meetings," said Queen. "Not unless I want people asking questions."

"And I," said Fox, "am... hungry. Frequently. More so than usual. Inspiration?"

"Let's go home, everyone," said Mona.

"If you all insist," said Goro, and collapsed the moment they left the Metaverse and he was on solid ground again.

* * *

That night he called Becky on Leblanc's yellow payphone. The peppiness of her "Hi, Master!" made him cringe, but he went through with it. If she failed to help he would find Kurusu and shoot him down in the street.

"I find it easier to study here than at home," he said to Boss after closing. "I won't make a mess. I promise."

"Fine," said the older man. "But just because you've been helping Futaba, yeah? Do _not_ touch the Kona."

Goro smiled until he left, then sank his head onto a table and groaned.

"Hey," said Morgana, nuzzling his cheek. "Hey, it's okay."

"I know," Goro whispered. "I don't know why I'm so tired lately."

The cat's eyes bulged out. "Let me see. You're the leader of the Phantom Thieves, you take care of all our shopping and selling, you're a top student at school - "

"I'm not," he said, arm muffling his voice. "I'm slipping. My last test I was top three."

" - you work four part-time jobs, visit at least seven people for several hours per week, _and_ you were assaulted by a yakuza henchman less than ten days ago! Of course you'd be doing horrible right now."

"Oh," said Goro, lifting his head. "Is that all?"

"No one said you had to take on all these burdens, Goro," Morgana said. "It's okay if you want to sleep in. You don't always have to watch weird shows with Futaba or go out with Ann, or - "

"Kurusu," Goro said. "I wonder what Kurusu's up to lately."

He hadn't come to Leblanc since the TV station interview, and it was annoying. What happened to unleashing the whirlwind?

 _Why don't you talk to him?_ a voice murmured in his mind, and he shoved it back down. Kurusu should contact _him_.

(... why?)

Morgana laid himself flat on the table. "Just take some time to yourself," he said. "Kaneshiro can't wait, maybe, but everything else can. The sky isn't going to fall if you're not perfect for a single day."

Hah. Wouldn't it?

"You promised me. You promised we'd be a team, and right now the team can't do without its leader. So, Crow?"

"Yes," he mumbled.

"You need to relax and have some fun. That's an _order_ from your navigator."

"Oh dear. What are you going to do if I disagree?"

"I'll tell Sojiro you're too lazy to compost the coffee grounds. That you just throw them out when he's not looking."

Goro's shoulders trembled with fatigued laughter. "Morgana, you and Boss can't even talk to each other. How are you going to do that?"

"Goro, please!" said Morgana. "I'm a magical talking cat.  I can do _anything_."

* * *

Becky came ten minutes late, and her maid costume and pigtails were terrifying enough Goro almost backed out the moment she curtsied at him.

"So!" she said in a voice nearly as high-pitched as Futaba's. "You'd just like a massage for the night, Master?"

"Please... don't call me that," said Goro.

Rigid smile still: "What should I call you then?"

"I don't know." Shrug. "I just want to get the stiffness out of my shoulders. Someone told me you did good work?"

"Coming right up! Where should we start?"

"Upstairs, if you will," said Goro, having cleared out the attic some time ago, and hoped he didn't come off as a serial killer in search of his next victim.

"Oh, brother," Morgana muttered, and went to sleep in one of the booths.

* * *

Becky worked.

Becky worked _beautifully_.

He ought to thank Kurusu.

No, that would just put a dumb grin on the boy's face. He didn't need the satisfaction.

Still, Goro hadn't felt so good in weeks.

No, ever. The evenings that followed a run in Palaces were excruciating. Even an afternoon jog in Mementos often sent his legs burning.

He paid Becky extra, and said, "I might call again soon."

"Uh huh!" said she in that bright voice, though for some reason she had refused to look him directly the whole time she was here.

(Was _she_ afraid of getting convicted for some sex crime if she knew how young he was? He did have his uniform on.)

* * *

 He couldn't help it.

 **Goro** : Thank you.

 **Kurusu** : ?

 **Kurusu** : Don't remember doing anything.

 **Goro** : The maid service.

 **Goro** : Becky.

 **Goro** : I'm ashamed to admit it but she was wonderful and I don't feel like warmed over death anymore.

 **Kurusu** : !

 **Kurusu** : !!

 **Kurusu** : !!!!!!!!!!!

 **Kurusu** : You used her? Unbelievable.

 **Kurusu** : It's great but

 **Kurusu** : You've been feeling bad lately?

 **Kurusu** : I had no idea.

 **Kurusu** : I mean I haven't been to Leblanc in like two weeks but

 **Goro** : It's alright.

 **Kurusu** : Did you miss me?

 **Kurusu** : Silence means yes.

 **Goro** : No comment.

 **Kurusu** : Aww.

 **Goro** : I need to go to bed soon, Kurusu-san.

 **Goro** : I just wanted to thank you.

 **Kurusu** : You're welcome.

 **Kurusu** : I know I tease you but I mean well.

 **Goro** : Do you now.

 **Goro** : If your fans could hear you...

 **Kurusu** : They get enough of me as it is.

 **Kurusu** : Maybe I don't want every aspect of me for public consumption.

 **Goro** :  I couldn't imagine.

 **Goro** : If I was under your kind of scrutiny I think I would wilt under the pressure and flee.

 **Kurusu** : The spotlight isn't all bad.

 **Kurusu** : Get a lot of perks out of it.

 **Kurusu** : Nice apartment.

 **Kurusu** : Tons of excused absences from school.

 **Kurusu** : Comped meals.

 **Goro** : Stop.

 **Kurusu** : Admit it you're jealous.

 **Goro** : I'm not.

 **Goro** : I'm really, really not.

 **Kurusu** : If you say so.

 **Goro** : I have to go to bed.

 **Kurusu** : Ah.

 **Goro** : You?

 **Kurusu** : Nah, still working on something.

 **Goro** : Hard-working as ever.

 **Kurusu** : You're the one who said my reasoning blew chunks.

 **Goro** : I did not.

 **Goro** : Don't put words in my mouth.

 **Kurusu** : I'm an artist; I paraphrase.

 **Goro** : Good night, Kurusu-san.

 **Kurusu** : You can call me Akira you know.

 **Kurusu** : I don't mind.

 **Goro** : ? We hardly know each other.

 **Kurusu** : Then consider it an invitation to know each other more.

 **Kurusu** : That's the endgame after all.

 **Goro** : I'm afraid to even ask what you mean by that.

 **Kurusu** : Are you?

 **Goro** : Good night.

 **Goro** : Kurusu-kun.

 **Kurusu** : Good enough.

 **Kurusu** : Senpai.

* * *

Kaneshiro fell.

Kaneshiro fell, and begged for mercy.

Kaneshiro begged and _begged_ them not to kill him.

(They weren't going to. It wasn't in Queen’s nature, and by now it was tradition to let the newest member of the team make that call. It didn’t bother Goro that he had never been allowed to make a choice himself. The Thieves wouldn't be here if he had.)

Still, Kaneshiro was _petrified._

"What are you so _afraid_ of!" said Queen, backing up in disgust with Kaneshiro's Treasure under her arm as his Shadow crawled and tried to grasp at her legs. "I told you, we're letting you go. As long as you atone in the real world - "

"It's not enough," he slobbered. " _Not for him_. Not for the Warden."

This again.

"Who," said Goro. "Who is this Warden?" Madarame had babbled on about him too, though in terms too vague to be useful.

Kaneshiro cowered. "Another Metaverse user."

"Another?" said Panther. "How is that even possible? Crow?"

"I'm not sure." Goro sheathed his lightsaber.

The Velvet Room.

Igor.

Had he given the power to another?

Were the Thieves not alone in this world?

"Tell us what the Warden does," said Fox, assault rifle slung to his back. "If he is so awful to make you fear so."

"He _kills_ ," breathed in Kaneshiro. "He's threatened to kill me before, if I didn't change my ways. Even worse, he threatened to rampage me!"

" _Rampage?_ " said Mona. "Don't tell me. Crow, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"The Warden," said Goro. "He's responsible for the rampage incidents in Tokyo, isn't he?"

"Yes," wept Kaneshiro. "And if you want me to live and turn myself in you have to take my Treasure now and leave. _Leave_ before he comes back."

They left, and the Palace crumbled behind them.

* * *

"There's another one in this world like me," Goro said behind bars that night, and with smugness in his smile, Igor said:

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"Not so fast, inmate!" Caroline barked. "You don't have the _right_ to demand information like that of our master."

"Ye - yes," said Justine, slower than usual to back up her twin. "You must focus only on your own rehabilitation. Not that of another."

"Forgive me," said Goro. "I find it hard to believe that someone killing Palace rulers in the Metaverse and causing people to rampage in the real world is undergoing any kind of rehabilitation whatsoever."

"So it seems," Igor agreed.

So the old man was determined to tell him nothing. "Very well," Goro said. "Let me ask you this, though: will I encounter him in the Metaverse?"

But the only response he got back was laughter, and the memory of chains in a blue void as he sank back into the darkness of sleep.

* * *

 A week passed where all Goro did was live and breathe and sleep.

(Well, not quite.)

When it was over he went to the Shibuya underground walkway and found Kitagawa, dreamy-eyed as usual.

The sight of him still made Goro feel things, but now - well-rested, well-fed, and largely indolent - he was better able to resist it.

"Shall we?" he said, and Kitagawa Yusuke said:

"Yes!"

* * *

"It's done," said Nijima one sleepy afternoon in late June on the school rooftop, airy breeze passing through their uniforms with a pleasant chill. "No more suggestion board. No more sneaking about for the Principal either."

"I beg your pardon?" said Goro.

She beamed. "I told him to mind his own business regarding the Phantom Thieves. Frankly I never would have found out if you hadn't told me yourself."

"You were close," Goro assured her. "You were very close."

"Thank you, Akechi-kun, but it was all circumstantial. It was hardly as if I had a tape of you declaring that you were the Thieves or something so damning."

"Ryuji," they said in unison and Nijima laughed, while Goro found it hard to suppress the smile that came to him. It _was_ true, wasn't it?

* * *

"Season one overrrr," sang Futaba as she pressed eject on the DVD player, "and season two start!" She looked over at Goro and gasped. "Are you crying? Are you?"

"... I'm not," he said, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve. "We've just been watching for a long time, and I'm quite tired - "

"Oh my god, Akechi! You are totally leaking tears right now."

" _I am not_ ," he said, and shielded his face when she took out her phone to take a shot.

"Too late, nerd! Your face is my wallpaper now!"

* * *

 "I don't believe it," said Dr Takemi, sagging into her chair. "Miwa-chan is still alive."

* * *

 "A Holy Stone?" said Goro. "That is... quite expensive."

"For the ability to cure all your problems," said the fortune teller, "what is a hundred thousand yen in comparison but a pittance?"

What a crock of shit. He bought one anyway.

* * *

“When I’m human again,” Morgana began, curled up at Goro's side in bed, and stopped.

“You will be,” Goro said. “We keep heading deeper into Mementos for you, remember?”

“I do, but - “ The cat rolled onto his back. “What if I turn out to be different than I am now?”

“We’ll still be friends.”

“What if I don’t like sushi anymore?”

“Morgana, I seriously doubt that.”

“What if - “

“What if _what_?” said Goro, and squeezed his paw.

Morgana gazed up at him. “What if this is good as it’s ever going to get for me, and the _me_ that turns out to be human isn't good enough?"

“Is the life you lead now so bad?” said Goro dryly. “You don’t pay for rent nor food, I physically carry you everywhere, you’re pampered by half the female population of Tokyo, and - “

“It’s not the same,” the cat mumbled. "You'd hate it if you were me too."

"I'd want to be an actual crow, yes." Goro lifted his arm and stroked Morgana's belly in gentle waves, one after the other. "Morgana."

"Yes?"

"I'm your friend too," he said, and when the cat didn't respond: "Do _you_ think I am, at least?"

"Yeah." Morgana sighed. "Of course, Goro."

"Do you believe me when I say we - the Thieves and I - will dig down as deep into as Mementos as we can? For your sake?"

"... yeah. Yeah, I can."

"You have nothing to worry about, then," Goro whispered. "Go to sleep."

Morgana closed his eyes for a long moment before snapping them back open. "Hey! That's my line!"

* * *

“I admire you,” said Yoshida over a large beef bowl. “With your background you would have greater cause than anyone to resent our society’s institutions. Yet you choose to involve yourself in politics and aim to reform the system from within.”

“Sir, I just hold your sign up while you speak,” Goro said.

“We all have to start somewhere,” said Yoshida. “And already you are in far better a place than I was at your age. No one will ever call _you_ No-Good Tora.”

“No,” Goro agreed, not in the least because that wasn’t his name.

* * *

 "Thanks for coming to Inokashira Park with me, senpai," said Suzui as she sat on the wooden railing. "I... have some good news. From the Phansite."

"Oh," Goro said, not even trying to hide his lack of surprise. _Why_ did this matter so much to her?

"Here." She reached into her bag and thrust out a portfolio thick with papers. Goro took it, bemused.

"Emails?" he said. "You printed all these out?"

"Read them through," Suzui said. "They're thank you letters from all the requests we - the Thieves fulfilled," she corrected.

Sigh. "Well, you're a part of it too, Suzui-san," he said.

"I'm glad you think so," said Suzui. "But - "

"There's no buts about it. Without your work the Thieves would be..."

Hm. They'd probably have a lot more free time, actually.

He read through them all nonetheless, and felt the core of his body flush in warm and strange ways when it ended. 

"It feels good to help people," said Suzui. "Doesn't it, senpai."

As if he knew anything about that.  Goro wanted to shake his head, but found himself immobile. He couldn't even protest now, could he?

"It's nice," he said finally. "I'm glad the victims are alright."

"Yeah. Me too," said Suzui, and when he looked back at her she was wiping away the tears from her eyes.

* * *

 "Yo!" said Ryuji with Goro behind him, swinging open the ratty old door to a cramped and narrow restaurant in a side alley. "Mom, I'm home!"

It was an okonomiyaki place, he recognized, by the flat grills on each table, though there were few customers this time of afternoon. A plump middle-aged woman with greying hair came out from behind a cloth flap and clasped her hands at the sight of them.

"Welcome home, Ryuji - oh! Did you bring a friend?"

"Uh, yeah. This is Akechi, a senior from school."

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Goro said, and bowed.

"So you're Akechi-kun!" she said, wiping her hands on her apron. "Ryuji's told me all about you. How you saved him from that disgusting Kamoshida and cleared his name from all those horrible things people said about him." She ushered them to a table. "Sit down, sit down! What would you like to drink?"

"Oh, no," said Goro. "Ryuji here did most of the work revealing Kamoshida's crimes. I was just around - "

Ryuji elbowed him before he could finish, and Goro lost his words entirely by the affront. "Dude, you don't have to lie. You helped me out." He grinned at his mom. "He's the real deal. Seriously."

"I... well yes," Goro said blankly, when two disturbingly well-matched smiles (Ryuji's with more teeth) came his way. "I suppose I did?"

"Have some okonomiyaki on the house," Ryuji's mother said, bowing deeply. "As thanks for helping my son. He really had no friends left at school before you came along - "

"Mom! Are you seriously going to sell me out like that? Now?"

"It's the truth, Ryuji!"

"Thank you," said Goro, trying to recover the sanity left in the room. "But I couldn't possibly take business away like that, and - "

" _Please eat_ ," said Ryuji's mother, and it was not a request.

"I'm... grateful, then." Goro was stunned. What was that? Had a Confusion spell just hit him?

"What manners! Ryuji, you could learn a thing or two from him!"

"Come on, Mom, I try!"

"Try harder!" she said, and sent him to get their drinks and mixing bowls, while Goro sat with his back pressed to the wall and watched mother nag son with heaviness in his heart, and a prickle of something else.

 _It's not about you,_ he told himself, when the food was cooking on the grill and the woman came by to help them flip the okonomiyaki perfectly.  _He has problems too. He's not perfect._

No. But some things were worth imperfection.

Goro thanked them both for the meal, and left a paper crane in the form of a tip.

* * *

"Kaoru's _my_ kid," said Iwai. "And I would _kill_ to protect him. You get me?"

"Yes," said Goro. "I do."

* * *

 "Checkmate." 

The joy on Togo-san's face lasted all of one picturesque moment until she looked up from the shogi board and found Goro staring at his felled pieces as if they had personally gotten his entire army slain and botched his morning bath with dried flowers and herbs and also taken a shit in it.

"Akechi-kun? Is something wrong?"

Her words broke him out of thought, and then Goro was back on the hard wooden bench with her, in this quiet church in Kanda few occupied this time of evening. 

"Your reputation precedes you... thoroughly," he said, smile on despite the loss so lopsided that if it had been in the Metaverse he would have submitted to a one-shot kill on his second turn. "My efforts didn't match yours, Togo-san, and I'm sorry about that."

"No! No! Please don't apologize." She brought up her hands and fluttered them about her face as she spoke - a nervous tic? "You told me yourself you were a beginner. It's _my_ fault, for getting so caught up into the emotion, like I was playing a fellow expert. I should have behaved myself as your teacher."

"Teacher?" quoted Goro. "I thought I was merely your practice partner."

(And punching dummy.)

"... yes." Togo-san smiled. "I was shy too, in the beginning. Spent so much time dwelling over every move that I was paralyzed by indecision. You will get better with time. I know it."

"Thank you," he said, mollified despite his defeat. "By the way, how old were you when you began playing?"

"Oh, seven," said Togo-san, and missed the scowl that flickered over his face for half a second before it smoothed over into polite neutrality again. "Another round before the last train, Akechi-kun?"

"With pleasure," he said, and lost before he put down his second piece.

* * *

 " _Easy_ now." Boss stared at him with the eyes of a military instructor while Goro made his third pot of coffee that evening. "Your hands aren't shaking anymore," he remarked.

"Aren't they? It must be because I've burned them numb," Goro said as he poured out two cups for them.

"Ah, don't be so dramatic." Boss walked past the counter and sat down on a stool. "Well?"

"Enjoy, sir," Goro said, and watched while the man took his first sip.

Boss was silent, but he wasn't spitting it out like he had the first time Goro "brewed" him some black sludge.

"Better," he said. "Using the good stuff might actually pay off now."

"Oh." Goro looked away, flushing. "Thank you."

"Taste it," said Boss. "Without the sugar, first. You don't need it."

It was the only way he could get it down though, usually. How did so many adults drink it like water?

Goro cupped his mug with both hands and drank.

 _Oh_ , he thought. 

The look on his face must have shown, for Boss just about cackled. " _See?_ Isn't it better like this?"

"It's..." He could taste its memory still on his tongue. A little like a lover's kiss, pressed on the nape of his neck. "Nice."

"Good enough to drink," said Boss. "One day, maybe even good enough to sell."

* * *

 "She's something else, isn't she?" said Goro, as Mika walked past them after another spiteful effort at sabotaging Ann's modelling work.

"Yeah," said Ann. "Totally awful."

"We could change her heart," said Goro. "If she's giving you so much trouble."

"No way. Just because she's petty or something?"

Goro turned to Ann to object, but she was smiling. Was this situation amusing to her?

"You want to be a serious model, don't you?" he asked. "People like her will tear you down before you've even had an opportunity to grow. Let's not leave it to chance."

"Maybe. But I don't care."

"You don't?"

"I mean, just look at her!" Ann waved a hand in the distance, though her rival had already vanished into the human sea that was Shibuya on a busy afternoon. "She tries to be sly, but she's not subtle. And sooner or later things are going to stop making sense for her, and people aren't going to listen to her BS anymore."

Goro frowned. "Do you think it's that easy for retribution to find its way to people like her?"

"Not retribution," said Ann. "Karma."

His lip curled. "Isn't that what _we_ do?"

"Is it?" said Ann, and he wondered what she was asking him.

"I mean..." she added. "Senpai. Why do the Phantom Thieves do what they do?"

"They change the hearts of people who can't be pursued by ordinary means," Goro said slowly, as if reciting from an answer key. "And therefore improve society by fighting for justice."

"Fighting for _who_ , senpai."

He blinked. "Victims of abuse, and those who have no one else to turn to."

"Exactly." Ann beamed. "We fight for people who - for whatever reason - can't fight back themselves. We help the _helpless_. That's what makes us who we are."

Oh.

Of course.

Goro let out a laugh. "You've thought about this a lot, Ann."

"You and Makoto can't be the only brainiacs around here." She winked. "Did you get what I meant, though? About not using our powers on people like Mika? Because the truth is..." She hesitated. "I _was_ helpless, before. When I thought all I had was Shiho, and no one else cared. Then you walked into Shujin like some mysterious stranger with a purpose and somehow let Ryuji sneak on your ride, and well - " She shrugged. "I'm not the same girl I was in the beginning. I can take on small fry like Mika myself."

"So you can," said Goro, and felt his own imagination stretch to fit hers. The Thieves needed Panther as much as they needed Crow, it was clear now. "Well said, Ann."

"Thanks! Now tell me: are you in the mood for crepes, or are you in the mood for _crepes?_ "

* * *

"Thank you, Akechi-kun!" said Okumura Haru, holding the door open for him as he dragged in a sack of soil to the rooftop all the way from the school gates. "I had no idea you were so strong."

"Oh," said Goro, sweating rain and bullets. "I do try."

She giggled, peach-soft hair bouncing around her cheeks as she did so. "It's so odd. We've been in the same class this whole year, yet we've only just spoken now, and because you felt sorry for me trying to get all this up by myself."

"Okumura-san," said Goro. "I don't feel sorry for you. I admire you."

"You do?" Her cheeks dusted pink. "All I do is grow vegetables though."

"You grow life," he told her. "Food. Sustenance. What keeps people going. I find that... something to respect. Tremendously so."

"... you're so kind," said Okumura. "I have some leftover produce from my last harvest. Would you like to try some?"

"I'd love to."

* * *

 "It's not working out." Kitagawa threw down his paintbrush and began pacing. "I beg your pardon, Akechi-san, but I don't think this session is going to be very productive for us."

"No?" said Goro, watching with a hand on his cheek as Kitagawa somehow managed to avoid stepping on all the artistic clutter on the floor of his dorm room at Kosei as he walked to and fro the door and window. Goro had ostensibly been modelling for him for the past hour, staying quiet on a stool with one (dead) leg crossed over the other while Kitagawa sketched his canvas and painted as if a demon had possessed him. 

And all for naught, perhaps, if the anxiety that had overtaken him since they encountered that irritating Kawanabe was going to last.

"Kitagawa-san," he said. "Sit down."

"I cannot - "

"Come here," Goro said, and held out a hand in offering.

It was foolish, most likely, especially since his own feelings were concerned. But Kitagawa obeyed, and pulled his own stool over. He didn't take Goro's hand, but then, it was merely a figurative proposal and neither desired more than they already had from each other.

"What bothers you," he said. "Truly." When Kitagawa looked away, he added, "My understanding of the arts lack considerably next to yours, but I can try to understand your current predicament if you'll share your thoughts with me."

"We... have been through much together," the boy admitted, and there was a slight flush on his face. "Very well."

It was better, Goro thought, when he was in control, and Kitagawa was only a friend. He could help him more like this. 

"Go," he murmured, and Kitagawa began.

"My work is... becoming distorted," Kitagawa said, his hands pale and fingers slender as they came up to his face in brief touch. "Whenever I paint I am distracted. In class, or with you, or on my own. I cannot think as I used to - only of the art, of my intentions, the single-mindedness of my purpose - " 

"As if you've lost it," Goro said. "As if your whole soul has become perverted."

"Exactly!" Kitagawa's eyes widened, dark and blue and long-lashed as a maiden's. "I _see_ things. Now that I am no longer in Sensei's home there are so many distractions, so much petty chatter and desire and greed that it feels as if my head will split in half from the great mass of it all."

"People can be repulsive," Goro agreed. Then: "But you cannot go back."

"The police will not likely let me in agan," said Kitagawa. "Not that I wish to," he added with determination.

Goro couldn't pretend the statement didn't please him. He smiled, and Kitagawa noticed.

"Why do you take joy in me saying that?"

He pressed his lips together. "It's not obvious?"

"I'd like to hear you say it," Kitagawa said, and Goro sighed.

"That day," he said. "When I was modelling for you. I wasn't lying."

"About...?"

"Seeing myself in you," Goro said, and when the boy made a coughing noise he sat up straight. "Kitagawa-san, I don't lie about _everything_."

"I know," gasped he. "But I assumed - "

"That I was pushing it?" A nod. "That I was doing it for the mission?"

Another nod, this time with force.

How to say this. Goro exhaled, looking around everywhere but there in front of him. "... it was my idea, you know. Going after Madarame at all."

"What do you mean by that?" Kitagawa's voice grew small, soft.

"The others had no intention of going to the exhibition. I did, because I thought it an honour. That was before I knew." His smile pursed in distaste. "Then, the day before, I did research - for my own education, of course. Then I found a few of the allegations regarding Madarame online, and since I knew he would never tell me the truth - "

"I was there," Kitagawa said.

"I did enjoy the tour you gave me," Goro said. "Honestly. If nothing else had happened I would have considered it a memory to appreciate over the years. Because - " He stopped, for without thinking a haze of confession had overtaken him, and now he ought to be careful about what he let free.

But Kitagawa sat leaning forward on his stool, and their knees almost brushed, cloth to cloth.

"When I was in Fuefuki," said Goro. "I never received an invitation like that. Not by someone like Madarame. Nor you."

"Like me," Kitagawa echoed. "I am a student, Akechi-san. Only a few of my works have appeared in exhibition."

"Then it's seven more than mine," said Goro, and laughed. "Did you think I was lying? I know your bibliography quite well by now."

"No, I - " Kitagawa's face had gone pink as a sakura blossom. "You honour me," he whispered. "With such praise. Thank you for choosing me - for saving me."

"You saved yourself," said Goro. "When you found Goemon, and he found you. Only those with the strength of heart to understand their true selves are worthy of such affirmation.

"And," he added, "he's with you even now, isn't he?"

"Yes," said Kitagawa. "And calling me very silly for my present angst, saying I am a great artist nonetheless and should not take the vulgarities of the world to heart. _It is not helping._ "

"I'm sorry," said Goro. "Robin Hood is even worse."

Perhaps their conversation wasn't enough to rid Kitagawa of his anxiety overnight, but when he picked his brush back up again it was no longer with a tense hand. They went out for a walk on the school grounds after - which contained a garden and park in the traditional style (if only Goro had had the sense to apply _here_ , but no) - and had a conbini dinner of onigiri and croquettes and oden on a bench, sharing a container of milk tea in between them.

"Thank you," said Kitagawa, when it was dark and he walking Goro back to his station.

"Not at all," Goro said. "I enjoyed it."

"Then, perhaps - " Hesitation like always, after the end of every working session they had together. When would he finally stop doubting Goro's faith in him? "Next Saturday, the same time?"

"It's already in my schedule," said Goro, and butterflies sang when Kitagawa said:

"Yes, of course! How could I forget," and laughed.

* * *

"This is nonsense. I'm going home."

"Akechi. Akechi. Please." Kurusu snagged his sleeve to stop him from leaving, while Goro glared. "I'm serious. This is a real case."

"Finding a lost cat in a park is _not_ a case," said Goro. "It's a mission for animal control. Not a private detective."

" _Akechi_ ," said Kurusu. "Are you saying this job's not good enough for me?"

"Shirogane would have never wasted time on something like this."

"Hey," said Kurusu, holding up his hands. "I'm not Shirogane. You know? I do my own thing. I _enjoy_ doing things like this. Solving murders and putting the bad guys away isn't the only way to fix society. People need help with the smaller things too."

"I know." Why did he feel so frazzled? "It's just - I used to want to do this for a living."

Kurusu's smile grew. "You're kidding."

"When have I ever," said Goro.

"No, no, you're right." The boy shrugged. "But then, why not make something special of it? Make this your first case as a junior detective. Solve it and I'll treat you - and split the reward money."

Goro's lip curled. "I'm not going to be your assistant, Kurusu."

"Did I say that? You said that," said Kurusu. "Help me out here. What are you so afraid of?"

Goro looked away.

"Let's go buy some cat treats," he mumbled, and pretended he didn't hear when Kurusu all but whooped in joy after.

* * *

 Later, they found Fufu-chan on the highest branch in the tallest tree in the park. "I am not going up that thing," Goro said.

"Then give me a boost," said Kurusu, and scaled it like a gymnast.

He came back down with an upset cat in his arms and a dozen fresh scratches all over his face and arms. "Ridiculous," Goro said, glad he always carried a First Aid kit with him nowadays. "Every part of you is ridiculous. Put it down so I can disinfect you properly."

"Nuh uh. She's going to run otherwise," said Kurusu, and fed Fufu-chan a stream of treats in his lap while Goro bent over the two of them awkwardly as he tried to work.

"Hold your face up," he ordered. "Look at me. Yes. Don't move."

Kurusu studied him with those grey eyes as Goro dabbed at his injuries with cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol, wincing all the while. "Stay still," Goro murmured, leaning back when the last of the bandages were applied. "There."

Kurusu checked himself in the tiny mirror that came in the kit, and twitched. "You may have overdone it."

"I did not," said Goro pleasantly. "At the least you look civilized now."

"Half of my face is covered in gauze."

"I don't see the problem.” He began to pack up.

Kurusu started laughing. "You! I see through you. Pretending to be a nice upstanding boy when all you want is to commit petty revenge upon a poor thing like me."

"You're not a poor thing, Kurusu. In fact, I'm positive you're the devil incarnate."

An imitation of an imitation of a groan. "Don't say something so _hurtful_ ," Kurusu said. "I'm not the devil. I'm a paragon of justice."

"If you're a paragon of justice," retorted Goro, "then I'm the biggest fool in the world."

* * *

In the end, those words would come back to haunt him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A moment of respite for Goro with his Confidants, with varying levels of intimacy and understanding. Goro CAN have friends, Atlus, why can't you see that!!
> 
> Anyway... after this chapter was already complete (I added in scenes while revising, can you guess which?) I actually looked up the walkthrough for July and realised how... NOT much free time there is to shoot about with after Kaneshiro goes down, so assume for my lazy self's sake that these S-Link moments aren't all happening right after another but take place here and there between now and chapters 9/10? Cuz otherwise there are gonna be big problems lol.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed a chapter that is mostly catharsis and people being sweet to each other. Next time, hopefully to appear in a few days: Futaba does a goof and is scared shitless over the consequences, Akira slides further into Goro's DMs and onto Leblanc's counters, the ripple effects of Shido not having a Metaverse hitman in this AU possibly come into play, and I sweat bullets while trying to remember how to include the game's remaining NPCs into the story and stuff. Who is Sae? Ohya nugu?? Whither more of Kawakami??? Uhhh...
> 
> ps the Black Mask figure in this universe is called the Warden because I am a hack sorry


	9. Prove your justice to society II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro reminisces over the old days, and thinks about the Thieves' former targets.

**9\. Prove your justice to society II**

At some point Futaba began to sleep over at the house, and no one stopped her.

At first it was merely staying the night when a binge session went on long past reason and she missed the last train once, then twice. A quick phone call to Isshiki-san gave no objections, and Goro laid out a futon for her in the spare room upstairs while Futaba was in the bath.

He didn't mind it in the beginning. Futaba was clever; her homework got done. Despite her personal clutter, she picked up after herself and recycled like a champ.

Then the sight of her neon green toothbrush greeted Goro in the morning without end. Enough of her clothes accumulated at the house for her own spin cycle and clothesline, and somewhere along the way she had begun washing dishes at Leblanc and taking out the trash.

(Kurusu noticed her too, asked Goro if she was his little sister.

“Just a family friend,” Goro had replied, aware of Boss in the washroom nearby.

Kurusu’s eyes crinkled. “That's the first time you've mentioned that word to me.”

“What, friend?”

“No. Family.”)

Goro of all people couldn’t pretend she didn’t belong. Dinner with her and Boss was always an experience. Despite a steady diet of Jagariko and Pepsi she had a chef’s tongue, and every other word out of her was a comment on the flavour of Goro’s (improving) cooking. It kept him on his toes.

Isshiki-san had yet to retrieve her daughter, which put him in an uncomfortable state of mind. Futaba didn't speak of her mother around him, nor Boss. And could _he_ approach her and have her listen to him? Goro doubted it. Futaba masterminded everything they talked about with terrifying efficiency.

Plus, Boss was a pushover when she was concerned - both Futaba and her mother. To be in the heart of this silent spat must twist him up inside, though he never expressed any of this worry aloud.

And to think he believed Goro the one to be keeping secrets.

Ultimately it came to a head one lazy evening in Leblanc. Goro was closing, and Futaba idly scrolling through her laptop in a booth. What she was doing with that thing he never understood, as whenever he came near she would stop her lightspeed typing and glare until her screen was no longer in his line of sight.

It was an evening like any other. Only this time, when Goro was wiping down the table next to her Futaba lifted her head from her screen and said, “How do you think the Phantom Thieves get people to change their hearts?”

Goro’s hand stilled on his rag. They'd never talked about the Thieves before.

“What do you mean?” He kept his voice low and calm.

“I mean…” Futaba unfurled in her seat like a cat. “It's clear that whatever they're doing has _worked_. From that dirtbag teacher to that artist who was abusing his apprentices to this whole yakuza boss fessing up to the cops! Even my classmates at Kosei are trying to figure it out, and usually all they care about are grades and getting into college early and _portfolios_.” She took her glasses off and rubbed at her eyes. “I'd do anything to find out.”

Perhaps now was the time. Goro slid into the seat facing her and murmured, “I'm guessing you're not asking out of curiosity’s sake alone.”

“Aren't I,” said Futaba, but her voice had no life in it.

“Futaba,” he said. “Can you tell me what's really going on?” When she didn't respond. “With you and your mother.”

Futaba stared up at Leblanc’s ceiling, eyes glossy and unfocused.

Out of nowhere she muttered, “You should be grateful you have parents at all, Futaba…”

“Futaba.”

“It's no good.” She sat up straight again, jammed her glasses on again and began to collect her things. “I'm gonna go home.”

“To Isshiki-san?”

“No, to Sojiro’s. Duh, I'm going home to my mom!” She stood up with her bag and glared. “Not that she'll even be there. See you later, nerd.”

“Futaba - “ He got up, but she ran out of Leblanc and was gone in a heartbeat.

Goro didn't see her for another week. By then, she had already done something both of them would regret.

* * *

 Summer vacation was fast approaching, and with them, final exams. There was no need to worry about Nijima or Kitagawa in that regard; both had superior intellects and discipline where it mattered.

Futaba, the current prodigal child, was also a genius. Not that she would be grinning at the moment to hear Goro praise her.

Unfortunately for his other friends…

“It's hopeless, man,” groaned Ryuji during another study session in the school library. “You can talk your head off about kanji all you like, but I'm not gonna remember the distinction between the characters for crow and bird no matter how many times you remind me.”

Goro fought the urge to scowl. A heat wave was roiling over much of Tokyo, and everyone smelled like degenerates in their summer uniforms, himself included. He had his hair in a ponytail to keep it from sticking to the back of his neck and dripping sweat, and he was tempted to borrow Nijima's headband to keep his bangs out of his face as well.

“Ann,” he said, turning to Ryuji’s partner in intellectual struggle. “Tell me you understand material as basic as this.”

“Uh…” She blinked at him long and slow, as if she had just woken from a nap, a strand of hair sticking out over one eye. Her voluminous blonde hair had gone on an all-out frizz attack in the wet heat of summer and was thus in quarantine in the shape of a tight bun atop her head.

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly, ducking her head low. “I could lie, but you'd figure it out right away.”

“Suzui?” Please, let one of them get it, at least.

“I understand,” Suzui said, a damp napkin pressed to her brow to absorb sweat. “I think. The kanji for crow is missing a line, see, whereas the bird kanji…”

Goro closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. Not everyone had a patience for studying, but nearly failing as the two blonds had done in their last test was unacceptable. Whether they went to college or not, a good test score meant…

Meant…

The heat was making him blank out on a lot of things. Why did a good test matter so much?

Oh, right. Without good scores he would have been another forgotten dimwit at the institution, destined for a lifetime of grunt labour, cheap wages, and awful sake and burnt yakitori at a mediocre bar at the end of the day.

Without the scores that had once informally coined Goro as the smartest boy in Fuefuki City, he would have never gone to high school at all.

He opened his eyes again.

"Ryuji," he said. "What are your plans after high school?"

"My plans?" Ryuji put down the pen he had just spent the past half-hour spinning around on his fingers. "Never thought about it that far. I still have time, don't I?" He looked slightly more concerned when Goro didn't say anything. "Don't... I?"

"In middle school you wanted to be an Olympic runner," Ann teased.

In response Ryuji just sank into his seat like a turtle retreating into its shell. "Yeah," he muttered. "Ain't like that's gonna happen now."

"Hey. I didn't mean it that way."

"I know, dude. But sometimes someone just sucks the life outta something you used to love, and..."

"It's terrible, isn't it," said Suzui.

"Oh jeez. Sorry, Suzui." Now Ryuji looked embarrassed.

"No - it's okay. It's okay," she repeated. "I started playing volleyball when I was six. The whole family would get together at my grandparents' place in Okinawa for the summer, and my cousins and I would spend all day on the beach and play until sundown. Then we'd eat spam musubi and pineapple and shrimp, and..." She looked down, playing with her fingers. "I wish that was what I was reminded of whenever I look at a net now, or go to gym class, instead of... him."

"Shiho..." Ann put an arm around Suzui, and again Goro was struck by their casual intimacy. Whether it was platonic or otherwise he didn't know. Only that it was effortless.

He thought of doing that to someone (to whom? Kitagawa? Kurusu?) and bit his lip. He couldn't imagine.

"We don't have to talk about him anymore," Ann said. "Kamoshida's going to jail."

"It's not about Kamoshida." Suzui replaced the soaked napkin on her brow with another from her tissue box, though her hand was trembling. "Even before him, volleyball was all I was ever good at. Now I don't have the club anymore, and..."

"You run the Phansite," Ryuji said. "Don't tell me that takes no talent."

"It does feel good to do that," Suzui admitted. "But it's the Phantom Thieves who are doing the real work. I'm just... the vehicle for filtering requests, and deleting rude comments, and - "

"Hey," said Ann. "Stop being so down on yourself and tell me. If nothing held you back - money or hard work or bad memories, what would you do? What would you want to be in life?"

Suzui put her head in her hands, and sniffled.

They weren't the only ones in the library, though their table was far from the librarian's eye. A couple of students stared at the noise, began to whisper. Goro matched them stare for stare until they broke away.

"It's alright," Goro said in a soft voice, and wondered when he had become so tender. "You don't have to go right away. Ryuji? What would you want to do?"

"Me?" Ryuji looked uncomfortable. "I... yeah, I would have kept running if the track team was like it used to be. Or with some other guys, maybe. Even now, when the cold goes through my clothes on a morning run but my body's already burning up and nothing can catch up to me, I - " He stopped, and looked at the three of them, staring.

"How does it feel?"

"Like I'm the wind itself," Ryuji said. "And nothing else matters."

At his words Suzui lifted her head.

"I wish you'd keep running too, Ryuji," said Ann. "But... I get it if you can't."

"Yeah," said Ryuji. "That's the thing, isn't it? Because I can still run for fun, and to stay in shape, but to go back to a team situation with daily practices and weigh-ins and competitions..." He dug his nails into the tabletop. "Somehow it just makes me want to puke. And I hate that I feel that way, 'cause if I could take it all back I'd - "

He looked away.

"It's... hard," said Suzui, and her gaze upon Ryuji was searching. "Like... it should be easier to separate the good things from the bad. Because it wasn't volleyball itself that took over my life, but Kamoshida. I should still be able to go onto the court and play. And I can't."

"Do... you have anything like that, senpai?" Ann asked.

"Like what?" said Goro.

"Something you used to like, but can't anymore. Because of someone, or..."

They were all looking at him.

"I'm not sure." He wet his mouth. "I never had much in the way of... oh. Wait."

He remembered.

Skinned knees.

The bleeding.

The creak of rusted spinning wheels.

His own patchy breath.

"... there used to be a bicycle at the institution," he said. Nobody else interrupted him, and so he went on. "A worker there gave it to us to share because his son had outgrown it. None of the boys knew how to ride it - myself included - and a lot gave up after they fell. It was too much for them, but I kept going. I wanted to learn." He laughed, aware of his throat tightening up. "Eventually it became mine, and I used it to get around town. It was... fun. I never knew the city could be so beautiful. I would ride along the river in the evenings, not caring if I missed the dinner bell. Some things were worth more. You can't imagine - " he said, and saw Suzui begin to tear up.

"I don't want to make this uncomfortable for you," he said.

"No!" said Ann in alarm as Suzui shook her head furiously. "No, no. We want you to talk."

"You never do," said Ryuji. "About your past, that is. And..." He lowered his gaze. "I want to hear more. If that's okay with you."

"Alright," Goro said, though he had to count his breaths for several moments before continuing. "One of the other boys wanted to ride it, so I shared. That was the rule. That lasted until - he wouldn't bring it back. Or he'd puncture the tires, and let it sit out in the rain. I couldn't work then, so I would recycle things for money. Save up, so I could fix it. Make it mine again.

"The other boy found out," he said. "He knew when I had saved up enough. Because I was proud - and I couldn't keep it to myself. And on the day I was going to take the bike to the nearest shop he took it from me. He made me watch while he wrecked it with his friends and dumped it into the river."

"Oh my God," said Ann.

"That's fucked up." Glares were sent their way, and Ryuji gave the finger back up.

"What did you do," said Suzui, and her tone was soft.

Goro smiled.

"I bought some pills with my money instead," he said, "and crushed it in their food the next time it was my turn to serve dinner.

"I was eleven," he added a moment later, when they were all speechless.

"Jesus Christ, dude," Ryuji hissed. "Did you kill them?"

"No," said Goro. "They just vomited profusely instead. And I was punished for it, even though no one could have known it was me."

"Senpai." Suzui's face was grave. "You say that like you shouldn't have gotten caught."

"I can't be sorry about it," said Goro. "I know it's perverse. I know it was wrong. I - I - " He sighed. "I had anger issues as a child."

"Yeah, no kidding." Ryuji regarded him warily. "Ann, say something!"

"Well, I was going to talk about how I wanted to follow in my parents' footsteps and be a fashion designer, but fuck!" said Ann. "Senpai, that's so dark."

The librarian was coming their way. Perfect.

"I know it's not a nice story,” said Goro. "And I wouldn't do it again."

"Cuz you'd actually get arrested."

"Excuse me," the librarian said. "We've been getting complaints from the other students - "

"We're good to go." Suzui stood up and started gathering her things. "Come on, everyone."

* * *

 They were all heading their way to the station when she spoke again. "Senpai."

"Yes?" Goro was conscious of them eyeing him differently now. Well, it would pass, and he...

Why had he shared that memory with them again?

There were nicer ones. Like the first time he presented a passing test to Ogawa-sensei and she given him a melon bar from the kitchen's freezer. Or when he bought a shirt for himself from the money from his first job washing dishes for a sushi place after school.

Or the look on Sensei's face when he'd been accepted into Shujin. Rushing over to Junes to buy him his fancy beige coat so he'd fit in with the stylish youngsters in Shibuya and hopefully make some friends.

Why did he recall the one memory that made him sound like a psychopath in training?

If Goro knew why he did half the things he did on a daily basis, he'd be a billionaire.

"If," said Suzui, "the Phantom Thieves had been around then, would you have asked them for help?"

Goro blinked, and a bit of the tension cracked away.

"Oh yeah," said Ryuji. "I guess that could have happened."

"... the Thieves only operate in Tokyo," Goro said. "And I don't think they could have bought me a new bike."

"They could have changed the boys' hearts," Ann said, watching him intently.

Goro stopped walking, and sighed. "Honestly, the child I was then wouldn't have been happy even if they got on their knees and begged my forgiveness. As if them feeling sorry after could have taken away what I first felt when they destroyed my bike. I was so angry - if I had been bigger, or a little stronger - " He bit his lip. "I suppose it's a good thing I've always been weak-bodied. Even now."

"Well, I was _happy_ you were starting to keep up with me," said Ryuji. "Before."

"Please. I'm not going to start poisoning people for fun because of this," Goro said. "Also - Suzui?"

"Yes?"

"We never got to you."

"If it was me," said Suzui. "I would have poisoned Kamoshida too."

"Shiho!" said Ann. As if the death of Kamoshida had never been a viable option for her. Didn't she know that if she'd killed him in the Metaverse, Goro would have only ever looked the other way?

"I meant about your aspiration," Goro said. As Suzui well knew.

"I know." She shrugged. "I'm sorry, Ann. I know I should be the better person. But I can't forgive everything. If the Thieves hadn't been there, I don't know what I would have done."

"Aren't we all so lucky the Thieves are around, then," said Goro.

(He wasn't kidding.)

* * *

 Disturbing revelations about his former childhood ethics aside, Goro had to help out at Leblanc again.

He thought about Futaba. If he wanted to see her. It had been a couple of days, but the past while she had become a part of the Yongen neighbourhood, so much some people thought her Sojiro's daughter.

(And who was Goro? The guy who just toted Morgana about and took out the trash once in a while?)

He had texted her, but she failed to respond - and the girl being so tech-obsessed, he knew she must have received his messages and chose to ignore them.

Which meant exactly what it meant. It couldn't be helped.

The bell rung as he entered the cafe to find Boss nowhere to be seen... and Kurusu in one of the booths, facing a silvery-haired woman in business attire, all shapes and sizes of files sprawling on their table and a small clear space for two half-empty cups of coffee.

"Oh!" Kurusu's gaze darted to Goro right away. He looked genuinely surprised and pleased to see him, and Goro returned his smile. Kurusu wouldn't have gotten upset over the story, right? He understood all about taking things into his own hands.

"Sae-san. Meet Akechi," Kurusu said, and when the woman turned her gaze, poised and cold and clinical onto Goro, his smile dropped at once. He could tell, even before his gaze dropped to the prosecutor's badge on her blazer.

A cop. Or at least, someone affiliated with them.

"My pleasure to make your acquaintance," said Goro, and smiled without smiling.

"Likewise," said she, not introducing herself.

"Akechi," said Kurusu. "This is Nijima Sae. She's a prosecutor, pretty much the only decent one in that whole lot of scumbags - "

"I," said Nijima, "am Kurusu-san's official and only line of communication with the Tokyo Special Investigations Unit."

"They're the ones who follow up on my cases," said Kurusu, when Goro said nothing.

"Yes, Kurusu-san has provided us with a great deal of work over the past few months," said Nijima, smiling in that strange stifled way Goro was, as if she'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Nijima," Goro said. "I'm sorry, is that your name? Would you happen to have a sister?"

"Makoto?" Her eyes narrowed. "Wait. Are you _that_ Akechi? Makoto's friend at school?"

How, Akechi Goro thought, could he have forgotten.

Nijima's elder sister was a prosecutor. Nijima's sister was _this_ prosecutor, who just _happened_ to work with Kurusu, who just _happened_ to come by Leblanc all the time.

Did she know about the Thieves? About Kaneshiro? What had Nijima told her, if anything?

"You look like you swallowed a lemon," said Kurusu. "Believe it or not, Sae-san is one of the good ones. And if her sister likes you, you must be too."

"... perhaps," said Nijima. "Though we really should be getting back to our work now."

Goro found his tongue again. "Let me refill your coffee," he said, putting his bag away. At least the motions of working here were clockwork, even if his head was askew.

Kurusu watched him put on his apron and tie his hair back with great interest, but surprisingly he was all business after, talking with Nijima over something Goro had no business eavesdropping in on. There were no customers in the cafe though, and Boss only popped in to tell Goro he was busy on a call and wouldn't be back for a bit.

Was it Futaba-related? Either way, Goro just nodded tightly and listened in on Kurusu's conversation despite himself.

"... upped the security around Kaneshiro's holding cell as requested. But who do you think is going after him now?"

Goro stiffened. Kaneshiro? He'd turned himself in after his own self-imposed deadline, yes, but wasn't Nijima elder working the Madarame case? Or...

He stared at Kurusu while the boy went on, seemingly oblivious to the one looking his way.

"His former allies in the yakuza, for one thing - "

"But he didn't have any! Everyone he worked with was under him, or soon disappeared after he came into custody. His whole network collapsed at once. Even his captains don't seem to have known much about his background or where the money was going. Someone _had_ to have transferred it. He couldn’t have done everything on his own."

"To who, though? You can't tell me a guy with that lifestyle wasn't in debt to someone more powerful if he was peddling drug money to threaten high schoolers with. His whole business was sketchy."

On and on they went about Kaneshiro, trying to puzzle out things it had never occurred to Goro to think about before.

Which, yes, acknowledge the truth: he only cared because Nijima younger had inadvertently roped him into an encounter with the man, one that left Goro physically battered and wanting to hurt. His hunger hadn't been pure, and the fact that it led Nijima to become a Thief had worked out by accident. She had taken up some of his slack in Mementos as well, keeping the Mona bus in track and giving out orders when Goro wanted to play passenger. The fact that Kaneshiro's bumbling threats had worked to wake the wildfire of Queen in Nijima was... delightful.

But it wasn't everything.

What did Kaneshiro Junya do?

Think, Goro.

He was a mob boss whose business primarily ran in extortion. Drug running. The sex trade, possibly. Unsavoury work that would ruin his victims' lives if the knowledge got out to their families, allowing Kaneshiro into trapping them into debt situations like the one he and Nijima had been threatened with.

Kaneshiro had operated in _Shibuya_. One of the busiest and most important regions in all of Japan. Why had he ever been allowed free reign? What had the police been doing? Kurusu and Nijima were discussing him _now_ , but had he had a file with anyone before? He had been extorting _everyone_. Yes, many would have been paralyzed over guilt and fear if they went to the police, but surely not everyone was so tight-lipped.

If an honours student like Nijima Makoto knew about Kaneshiro - knew his name, and if Goro and his friends had been able to find out where he operated - and considering how easy it had been overall for him and Nijima to get to the man, it was ridiculous to assume the cops of all people couldn't have gotten in touch.

Unless they were compromised too.

Or they were in on it.

Or they didn't care.

Or they were busy blaming the victims and doing God knows what instead.

Even Kurusu and Nijima elder didn't know who and where Kaneshiro had been funneling money to. Now he could presume a lot, but they didn't appear incompetent in front of him - especially Kurusu, who Goro had to admit didn't look out of place matching wits with a prosecutor twice his age.

Goro resisted the urge to imagine himself in the boy's place, and started wiping the counters down.

They spoke on Kaneshiro for a while longer, but soon the papers started disappearing from the table, and Kurusu went to the bathroom, leaving only Goro and Nijima elder in the cafe.

"Here," she said when she got up, passing Goro three stacked hundred-yen coins. "For the coffee."

"Thank you," said Goro.

She turned - she was going to leave -

"Wait," he said. "I want to ask you something."

Hand on her hip as she turned back to face him, Nijima said, "I hope you’re hard of hearing, Akechi. It wasn't my idea to come here, but Kurusu insisted Leblanc was a quiet place for our meeting. Ideal."

"We're... grateful for your patronage."

A small smile. "Well then?"

"You're working the Madarame case, right?" he said, and saw her inhale sharply.

"How did you know?"

"Nijima-san told me at school," Goro said. "We... have a mutual friend who was affected by the artist. I'm wondering if you've made any progress? I know you can't tell me anything confidential but - "

"I can't," said Nijima. "But your concern is merited. Madarame hurt a lot of people.

"Unfortunately," she added. "I've been reassigned. I have nothing to do with what happens to him anymore."

"What?" said Goro.

"I'm working on the Kaneshiro case now. Less high-profile, perhaps, but no less frustrating."

"And Kurusu is helping you?"

"Yes," said Nijima, glancing at the clock. "But I'm afraid that's all I can discuss with an ordinary citizen. Good night, Akechi."

She left.

Kurusu came out with perfect timing a moment later. "What a coincidence, huh," he said. "I know Sae-san, you know her sis, it's like - " He stopped when he saw the look on Goro's face. "Hey. What's wrong."

"You said Nijima was one of the good ones," said Goro. "What did you mean by that."

"I meant what I meant." Kurusu came over to the counter, took a seat. "She's the only one in that whole lot of cops you can close your eyes around without worrying she'll shoot you in the back. Why? Did you get on her bad side?"

"She told me she's not on the Madarame case any more," said Goro. "What's going to happen with him now?"

"Wait," said Kurusu, nostrils flaring. "You care about that?"

"... Kurusu. I'm allowed to have friends. One being a victim of Madarame."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"He's not going to get away with it, will he?"

"What? No! What gives you that impression. Think about the public outroar if he did. How many people he scammed and abused - even the cops would be crazy not to go for as high a sentence as they can get."

"What would you do, though. If you were wrong."

"If?"

Goro stepped back, frazzled. "Kurusu, for someone who proclaims to hate authority and works to subvert them at all costs, I don't get it. How are you so sure that someone like Madarame's going to get his just desserts? Surely he must have had friends in power - people who supported him and let his allegations slide. He was stealing from his pupils and selling copycat paintings for years, where did the money go from that? It certainly wasn't in that miserable house of his - "

"Akechi," said Kurusu, and his voice had gone soft. "You want to tell me something?"

Goro had said too much. He could feel the flush creeping up the back of his neck.

"You know..." said Kurusu, letting his gaze wander. "There's a pretty good mockery of the Sayuri here in this very cafe. The only thing is, I've never seen one with a baby in the portrait. Where did you get it from?"

"A hundred yen shop," Goro said. "You can guess how much it cost."

He had gone cold, because somewhere along the way he forgot the plan - forgot to keep only a detached curiosity, and now Kurusu had his hand on his chin and was staring at him as if Goro had personally transported him to the Metaverse.

"You're worried, huh," the boy said finally. "About your friend."

Goro said nothing.

"... okay. I'll look it up for you."

"Look up what."

"What happens with Madarame's case from now on. Sae-san can get me the details, even if she wants to kick my ass for it. She's pissed too, of course. It was her baby." Kurusu smiled. "You got worked up for a minute there. Like, more than I've ever seen - "

"I know." Goro turned his back, pretended to busy himself with dusting the coffee jars.

"Your friend. They must be important to you - "

"Please, no more questions."

"I'll drop it," said Kurusu. "If you tell me what you thought about our conversation earlier."

Goro stilled. "About Kaneshiro."

"Yes."

He faced Kurusu again, if only on his side. "Tell me," said Goro. "Did you bring Nijima here because you wanted me to overhear?"

"... I'm a private eye who just happens to work with this one prosecutor once in a while," said Kurusu. "Plus, it would be shady if we met up at my place. I'm still a minor, after all."

"Not funny, Kurusu."

The boy slumped forward on his elbows, still looking up at Goro from under those impenetrable bangs. "I'll find another place if it bothers you so much, then."

"It's not that," said Goro. "I just - for some naive reason I assumed everything would turn out fine when those two turned themselves in." He wet his lips. "As if I - and everyone else - could just forget about them after, and move on with our lives. Why would _I_ of all people think that?"

"Yeah, well," said Kurusu. "The Phantom Thieves can change people's hearts. They can't make trials happen overnight or ensure the bad guys always get the death penalty. You work with what you have."

Goro snorted. "You sound like a cynic."

"My whole schtick is cynicism, Akechi."

"Is it? I thought it was about giving hope to people who no longer have faith in the police to do the right thing."

"If that's what you took from it," said Kurusu. "Then that makes me happy. But nah." He shrugged. "I'm just here to help people while it's still possible. Society's trash. You'd have to change all of humanity's hearts to reform it into something as just as it needs to be - and at that point we wouldn't even be human anymore. Just happy little automatons, ticking along."

... huh.

"That's different," Goro said. "From what you said before." He added: "I thought you were a fan of the Thieves."

"I am." Kurusu blinked. "Doesn't mean I'd want them coming after me next."

"They only go after criminals," said Goro. "I can't possibly imagine why they would ever target you."

"Yeah." Kurusu straightened up in his seat. "Me either."

* * *

 "Ooh, we can do this!"

At least Morgana was in a good mood.

It was the final day of exams, and Goro felt confident. He'd spent more time tutoring the second years after school than attending to his own work, but he had managed to squeeze in one or two sessions with Nijima younger, and they gotten down to business.

There. He finished his essay and put his pencil down. Much better.

* * *

  **Goro** : Futaba, do you want to go out on the 18th?

 **Goro** : There'll be fireworks.

 **Goro** : It'll be with my friends from school.

 **Goro** : I'll buy you whatever you want.

 **Goro** : ?

 **Goro** : Come back to Leblanc.

 **Goro** : Boss misses you.

 **Goro** : I do too.

Silence. Goro put his phone away. He couldn't wait forever.

* * *

 "Boss, you wouldn't happen to have a spare yukata, would you?"

It was evening at home, and Boss lounging on the sofa watching TV with Morgana curled up beside him, while Goro had just come out of the bath and was trying in futile effort to keep hair from slipping out of his towel wrap. Long hair had its costs, after all.

"Ah. You mean the festival tomorrow."

Goro nodded. "You should come too," he suggested. "Leblanc won't get any customers with the whole city out - why not take a day off for once?"

"Nah." Boss snorted. "That stuff's for youngsters. I don't have the energy anymore." He got up, and stretched. "But I might have some old clothes lying around. Let's go digging."

Goro followed him up the stairs, and after a moment Morgana padded up too. The second floor of the house was seldom Goro's territory - he had everything he needed on the first - and all it contained was Boss' bedroom and the spare room Futaba had used when she stayed over. It still contained her things - the futon she used, a small wardrobe full of her clothes, some volumes of manga and DVDs she had left behind. Goro came in every few days to dust the place, but otherwise stayed out. Knowing her, she had probably bugged it.

Boss' room was somehow even more spare. It was a traditional room with tatami flooring, and there was only a folded futon on the side and a few pieces of furniture pushed up against the wall.

And yes... Goro could smell the smoke.

Boss slid open the door to his closet. "What are you looking for?"

"Anything is fine," Goro said. "I'm not choosy."

Morgana slipped through his ankles at that moment, looking up. "You don't have to say it like that, Goro."

"What should I say, then?" Goro said, then flinched when Boss chuckled.

"You really like talking to him, huh?"

"Oops," said Morgana. "I'll shut up now."

"It's..." Goro put his smile back on. "Freeing. I don't have to think about much when it's just the two of us. I suppose it's like that with all pets?" he offered.

"Yeah," said Boss. "I was never one for that myself. Too busy when I was young. Now - "

"Mrr?" said Morgana in perfect innocence.

"He's not so bad," the older man said, fighting back a smile. "I guess."

They looked through the closet for some time, until Boss managed to retrieve from the crowded top shelf the box where he kept his more traditional garb. "Don't expect anything fancy," he said as he opened it, Goro kneeling next to him. "It's been years since I've worn any of this, so it might be outdated, but - "

"I'm grateful," Goro said.

"Good. You know how to put one on?"

"Ah, I'll need your help on that - "

Boss started pulling the pieces out one by one, dismissing them with a glance before Goro could even speak in the poor clothes' defense. "Too big. This one's got holes in it. Colour doesn't fit. Tacky pattern. What was I even thinking? Ugh - "

"Boss, it's fine," he said. "They're just clothes. They're not hurting anyone."

"I don't want you to wear any old dump of a thing," said Boss. "Here, how about this one? It's not as bad as the others." He held up a folded yukata. It was white, with thin golden stripes running up and down.

"Not bad," Goro said. "Very light."

"Try it on. I'll look around for the obi. What colour do you want?"

Honestly, this was... "Any colour is fine."

"Red. It'll match."

"If you say so."

"Kid." Boss glowered. "You're allowed to have nice things."

"I... have a lot of nice things already."

"Like what," muttered the man.

"Food," Goro said. "My bedroom. Morgana here, and my friends. What else is there?"

"I meant - things for yourself. Don't think I haven't noticed you still wearing the same clothes you came in here with. Don't you ever spend any of that money from your jobs?"

"I'm saving up for the future," Goro said. "Right, Morgana?"

"Yep," said the cat. "If by that you mean single handedly propping up Iwai's business."

Goro leaned over to scratch him on the head. "I do," he said, and laughed when Boss spluttered.

"Don't ignore me here!"

* * *

 The yukata looked nice. _He_ looked nice.

The 18th came as expected, and Goro headed to the station feeling silly in his garb, but pleased nonetheless. He'd never worn yukata before, nor kimono, and felt vulnerable in the thin clothes.

But he was happy.

The others were suitably resplendent in their clothes when he met up with them in Shibuya Station. "You look great, senpai," Ann said.

"Thank you," Goro said. "It seems we're all dressed for the occasion."

"You calling me out?" grumbled Ryuji, the only one in casual clothes. "It's not like I have anything like this stuff at home, so - "

"Come," said Kitagawa. "Before we miss anything."

* * *

 It began to rain not even five minutes after the fireworks began.

"Well, _this_ is bullshit."

Nijima held out her hand from the skinny awning they were all under, and sighed. "I don't think this is clearing up any time soon. Should we just go home?"

"Goro, shield me here!" yelped Morgana, sinking back into his bag. "My fur doesn't do so well when it's wet!"

"You're _fine_ , Morgana," Goro said, reaching down to cover the cat's head with his hand.

"I'm not." Ann shielded her hair with her hands as the rain began to drip down. "Did anyone bring an umbrella?"

"There's a convenience store across the street," said Kitagawa. "Perhaps we can purchase one there."

"Yeah," said Ryuji. "Us and every other poor bastard out here tonight."

Through the gap in the awnings the rain showered onto Goro's shoulders and soaked through the front of his yukata.

"Let's go," he said.

* * *

 The store was a crowded mess with slick dirty floors and people grumbling about, and the inclusion of five people and a surly cat did not help matters. They found a corner to themselves and tried to warm up. Ann tried to fix her already poofing hair, Nijima holding her hairpins as she did so; Kitagawa was looking upon the bubbling pot of oden in the hot foods section, and Ryuji scrolled through his phone in boredom.

Goro went to look for umbrellas, and sneezed.

"We should have brought a coat," Morgana mumbled.

"We should have done a lot of things," he agreed. "Still, it was fun while it lasted."

"... this is the part where you tell me something sad like you've never seen fireworks before," the cat said. "Right?"

"Morgana," said Goro. "Please tell me how you're less sheltered of a being than I am, considering our backgrounds."

"Hey!" the cat protested. "I didn't spend _all_ my time in Kamoshida's Palace. I was in other places too - sometimes in the real world. I had a life before I met you. Even if it wasn't so great most of the time."

"And now you get restaurant-quality tuna every other night," Goro said. "Things have really moved up for you."

"You're the same! Don't tell me you - "

"Akechi-kun? Is that you?"

Morgana meeped into silence, and Goro turned in the empty aisle to see Okumura from his class, wearing a yukata and looking at him curiously.

Oddly, she looked completely dry. Had the rain not touched her at all?

"Okumura-san," he said. "Did you come to see the fireworks too?"

"Yes," she said. "Though it hasn't worked out that way, has it?"

Goro smiled. "It's the same for my friends and I."

"Oh." She looked interested. "Who did you come with?"

"Nijima-san," he said. "And some second years. Are you with company as well?"

"Just my fiance," she said, then shook her head. "I should head back. I just saw you from the car, and wanted to say hello."

"That's quite nice of you," Goro said. "Morgana says hello too."

"Morgana...?" said Okumura. Goro tilted his bag forward a bit, and Morgana stuck his head out in alarm.

"Hey! _What_ are you doing right now," the cat huffed.

To Okumura it was nothing more than a fussy set of meows, and her whole face lit up. "Oh my! You have a cat, Akechi-kun?"

"He has separation anxiety," Goro said, Morgana yowling in protest. "So I take him everywhere. Please keep it a secret." Wink.

"I will, I will!" Okumura clasped her hands in front of her. "You'll never hear a word out of me."

"Good," said Goro.

There was a pause.

"I should go back now."

"Yes. I need to find umbrellas as well."

"It's in the isle next over. I - I saw some, when I was trying to get through the crowds." She smiled. "Well, good night, Akechi-kun."

"Have a safe trip home," said Goro and watched her turn and leave... and a pair of tall men in suits he hadn't noticed leave alongside her.

Huh.

Okumura.

A car.

A fiance.

Bodyguards?

Interesting. He should ask her, the next time they were gardening together.

* * *

 There were texts from Suzui when he got home.

 **Suzui** : Something's wrong with the Phansite.

 **Suzui** : I think it's been hacked.

 **Suzui** : Have you looked it up yet?

 **Suzui** : I don't know if it's just a prank yet, but

 **Suzui** : Whoever this hacker is wants to meet with the Phantom Thieves.

 **Suzui** : In person or otherwise.

 **Suzui** : What should I do, senpai?

 **Suzui** : They're going to delete the whole website if I don't agree!

 **Goro** : Don't do a thing.

 **Goro** : I'll look into it tomorrow.

 **Goro** : After school?

 **Suzui** : Yes.

 **Suzui** : Please... figure something out.

* * *

 

"I've been getting messages on the Phansite for a while," Suzui said the next day, as they sat in the courtyard together. "Maybe two or three weeks now? I filter all the requests, of course, and sometimes I just get strange questions, but..."

"But," said Goro

"It's been this person... calling themselves Alibaba. Sending me messages day and night, wanting to know how they could get in contact with the Thieves. Whenever I asked why, they'd stop responding. Just... get me in touch with the Phantom Thieves and things like that."

"And now this," Goro said.

Suzui's laptop was open beside her, and the Phansite’s forum should have greeted them. But there was only a hideous red background, and in thick black letters, in mimicry of the Thieves' calling cards:

 

**PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEARTS**

**YOU WILL NOT IGNORE ME**

**YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO**

**HOW LONG WILL YOU MAKE ME WAIT?**

 

Goro's lip curled. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Suzui hunched in over herself. "Senpai. I know you're not a fan of the site." Goro opened his mouth, but she went on. "No, I know. It's gaudy, isn't it? I wanted to help the Thieves in the beginning, but now it's starting to feel like... maybe I'm doing it for myself."

"Suzui," he said, wishing Ann were here. "We're all selfish at heart. It's alright."

"Yeah." She nodded. "And in the end, a website's just that. I can remake it - but I've spent so much time on it over the past few months."

"And our requests," said Goro. "You remember the emails you gave me, right?"

"I do."

"They belong to you too," he said, and when her eyes widened, he added: "Suzui... without the requests you've sent our way, what do you think would have happened to the people we helped?"

She shut the laptop. "They'd still be in the same place as before."

"Yes. So don't worry," he said. "The site is important to you. I understand.

"So take a break," he said. "And let me handle this one. Tell Alibaba to get in contact with me."

* * *

  **Goro** : Greetings.

 **Goro** : Is this Alibaba?

 **Goro** : Admin gave me your number.

 **Alibaba** : Who am I talking to?

 **Goro** : A Phantom Thief, of course.

 **Alibaba** : This is a burner phone.

 **Goro** : You're a hacker.

 **Goro** : You didn't think I'd make it easy for you, did you?

 **Alibaba** : You can't be trusted.

 **Alibaba** : How do I know you're telling the truth?

 **Goro** : You don't.

 **Goro** : You're the one who came calling.

 **Goro** : The burden of proof is on you.

 **Alibaba** : I can delete your website.

 **Goro** : Go ahead.

 **Goro** : You think I care?

 **Alibaba** : Wow.

 **Alibaba** : That would break Admin's heart if she knew.

 **Alibaba** : I know her identity by the way.

 **Goro** : ?

 **Alibaba** : I can see everything on her computer. Even now.

 **Goro** : Are you planning on threatening me?

 **Alibaba** : If that's what it takes.

 **Goro** : What do you want.

 **Alibaba** : I want you to change someone's heart.

 **Goro** : ?

 **Alibaba** : Promise me first.

 **Goro** : Don't be ridiculous.

 **Goro** : Or what?

 **Goro** : Your bark has no bite.

 **Alibaba** : Shut up!

 **Alibaba** : I'm thinking.

 **Goro** : Don't take too long.

 **Alibaba** : Fine.

 **Alibaba** : I don't want to threaten random high schoolers either.

 **Alibaba** : But I am desperate.

 **Goro** : Change the site back and I'll listen.

 **Alibaba** : You will?

 **Alibaba** : Done.

 **Goro** : Thank you.

 **Goro** : Now tell me what you want.

 **Alibaba** : ...

 **Alibaba** : There's someone whose heart absolutely has to be changed for the better.

 **Alibaba** : Or things could get a whole lot worse for society in the coming months.

 **Goro** : Who?

 **Alibaba** : I need to know absolutely if you'll do this before I tell you.

 **Alibaba** : My life could be in danger if you don't.

 **Goro** : If your request is just we'll listen.

 **Alibaba** : Just...?

 **Alibaba** : I just want it done.

 **Goro** : We're not thugs.

 **Goro** : Do you think you're doing the right thing right now?

 **Alibaba** : Yes.

 **Goro** : Then tell me.

 **Alibaba** : ...

 **Alibaba** : It's a government scientist.

 **Alibaba** : Her research is based on a theory called the cognitive world.

 **Alibaba** : A world that exists on another reality above ours.

 **Alibaba** : Where people's thoughts and desires manifest into monsters and otherworldly beings.

 **Alibaba** : The human psyche made flesh, basically.

 **Alibaba** : She's been trying for years to figure out if this world is real, and she's getting closer and closer to the truth.

 **Alibaba** : But it's distorted her being along the way.

 **Alibaba** : She's become cruel and neglectful to the people around her.

 **Alibaba** : She's obsessed with this politician she hates called Shido.

 **Alibaba** : She wants to destroy him for interfering with her work.

 **Alibaba** : If she keeps going on this treacherous path she'll be ruined herself.

 **Alibaba** : And then

 **Alibaba** : The people who care about her will

 **Alibaba** : Never mind.

 **Alibaba** : You have to stop her.

 **Alibaba** : Change her heart.

 **Alibaba** : Please.

 **Alibaba** : Why aren't you saying anything?

 **Goro** : This cognitive world.

 **Goro** : Do you think it's real?

 **Alibaba** : I don't know.

 **Alibaba** : I've never seen any proof.

 **Goro** : You have access to this scientist's files.

 **Alibaba** : All of it.

 **Alibaba** : And at great personal risk.

 **Goro** : I want to see them.

 **Alibaba** : Not yet.

 **Alibaba** : Fulfill my promise first.

 **Goro** : Promise...?

 **Goro** : You're outrageous.

 **Goro** : But this is worth looking into.

 **Goro** : Thank you for bringing it to my notice.

 **Alibaba** : ?

 **Alibaba** : You don't even want to know her name?

 **Goro** : I know already.

 **Goro** : It's Isshiki Wakaba, isn't it?

 **Alibaba** : ...

 **Alibaba** : How did you know.

 **Alibaba** : Who are you.

 **Goro** : Someone to keep you on your toes.

 **Goro** : Goodbye, Alibaba.

* * *

  **Goro:** We have a new target.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh... this chapter is done already. 
> 
> Baby Goro was a menace... but hey, they deserved it. Plus, me trying not to be lazy and actually inject some themes into this story when it's already 1/3 done. The Phantom Thieves are one thing, but they still live in the real world the other 99% of the time, and alas, just because it's over doesn't mean it's really over...
> 
> Next time???: the Thieves work their next target while being threatened by an international hacker conglomerate, Goro tags along on a case with Kurusu and learns a little more about him, some plot happens or whatevs, and maybe we'll finally get some Phansite comments again!


	10. Stop Medjed's plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro straight up cries in this one. Yep.

**10\. Stop Medjed's plan**

The team had their meeting in the student council room the day after.

Isshiki-san was undoubtedly researching the Metaverse, and from the redacted files Alibaba sent to Goro grudgingly as a small slip of proof, she was getting to the tail end of things in getting her work published in several important scientific journals. Honestly, Goro had no idea how someone could even verify the Metaverse's existence without something like the Nav, and if Isshiki-san had access to that there were bigger things to fry than her Palace.

She had one, of course, which meant that no matter the value of her work, something had warped her mentality to grotesque proportion. Goro was no fool. He wouldn't have accepted Alibaba's offer if the woman had had a mere Shadow.

And damn it, he wanted to see more of this research - unredacted - for himself. Igor and the twins were useless in explaining anything but semi-cryptic nonsense, and Morgana only knew so much. What was the Metaverse? Why did it exist in the first place, and _how_ had it emerged from the consciousness of humanity?

Why did people have Shadows, and the Phantom Thieves alone have Personas? Would they have had Shadows somewhere lurking too had Goro not brought them into the Metaverse before he could encounter them in Mementos? Ann had had one - what about the rest of them?

Had _he_ had a Shadow before Robin Hood rose from the dark recesses of his mind and glimmered and made him Crow?

What _was_ Robin Hood? Surely not a manifestation of the English myth, not with his futuristic armour and ten-foot-tall stature. The mythical Goemon had been a simple human too, whereas Fox's was a flamboyant, otherworldly bandit with chalk-white skin and that bulbous purple extrusion from his head. Johanna was a _talking motorcycle_.

Was the capacity for bearing a Persona in everyone's hearts, or just Goro's friends?

Ryuji and Ann's Personas had clawed themselves out of rage against Kamoshida. Kitagawa's had come out when he could no longer ignore the deceit of Madarame's ways. Nijima too, when her desire to defeat Kaneshiro overwhelmed her need to be the perfect student everyone else saw her as. Apart from Goro, who had been only tangentially relevant to Kamoshida, everyone had had to face head-on the greatest demon looming over their personal lives. They'd had to reach their emotional breaking point. They had to have refused to have backed down. They had to have made a _choice_.

Did Isshiki-san know all this? Did she know about the Velvet Room?

Goro didn't want to go to her Palace. He wanted to go to her workplace, and ask her.

Or at home, if she was there. But Futaba -

Ah, Futaba.

What should Goro do with her?

* * *

"So," said Nijima, looking up from the files she had been reading. "You want to go to this Isshiki-san's Palace and change her heart?"

Goro crossed his arms, leaning against the wall of the student council room. The entire team was here save for Kitagawa, still at Kosei. "Not yet. For now I'd just like to look around and verify. Triggering a Palace ruler's suspicion is something we can't take back, so if we can observe without being detected, that would be ideal."

"Verify what, though?" said Ryuji, slouched over a table. "What do you think we're going to find in this Palace that's so special from all the others?"

Goro shrugged. "All the Palace rulers expressed their true thoughts to us. They had no desire - or perhaps even the capacity - to lie. I'm sure we'll find out what's been distorting Isshiki-san's heart if we speak to her Shadow."

" _Without_ being caught," said Ann. "Are you sure we're going to be able to talk to her without her immediately trying to cut our heads off?"

"I'm working another angle as well," Goro said, and added: "Isshiki-san is a friend of Sakura-san's."

"Boss? No way." Ryuji blanched. "So you've met her?"

"I've had dinner with her," said Goro, and told them about the phone call he had overheard that night.

Even the part about Shido. He would prefer never to think about his biological father at all, but if he was threatening Isshiki-san's work over the cognitive world, then -

 _He has a Palace, remember?_ some part of Goro's mind that was neither him nor Robin Hood whispered. _Not that you've been very diligent at finding it._

He curled his fingers over his forearms. He knew that. God damn it, he knew.

"So this politician Shido is interfering with Isshiki-san and trying to get her to hold back releasing her research." Morgana bent low to the papers on the table, tail flicking idly by. "What do you think his game is?"

"He probably doesn't want the public finding out about the Metaverse," Ann said. "I mean, don't most politicians lie to begin with? They always say they want to keep the peace and not distract people, but..."

"It must be the coming election," Nijima said, and when three pairs of eyes in the room (not Goro's) switched over to her with confusion, she sighed. "The... election this winter? Voting for a new Prime Minister and government?"

"None of us can vote yet, dude," said Ryuji.

"I didn't mean _that_." Her hand closed into a fist in her lap. "Shido-san is in the running, and so far he has a modest majority over the other candidates. It's possible that lead wouldn't last if something like the truth of the Metaverse came out."

"Why not?" said Ann. "How would that affect his chances?"

"Because he's a control freak," Goro said. "He needs to have mastery of every situation and if there's a single abnormality outside of his plan he'll strike it down without hesitation. If the public's talking about the Metaverse, they're not listening to his campaign speeches or the spiel he spews out in the Diet every day. Moreover, if he knows about Isshiki's research in detail, then he probably wants to use the Metaverse for his own corrupt purpose and - "

Everyone was staring at him. Goro stopped.

"You... sound like you know him personally," said Nijima.

"Not in the least." Goro looked elsewhere. "I just know his type."

"Sounds like we should be doing _his_ Palace instead," said Ryuji, and Morgana's whole body swivelled to Goro, as if to say: _Can I? Can I?_

To which, Goro would reply: _Don't you dare._

"Alibaba's request is to change Isshiki Wakaba's heart," he said instead. "We'll find out the truth of the matter if we venture into her Palace... and how much Shido is involved."

"Yeah," said Ann. "That seems fair."

"So it's a deal, then?" said Nijima. "We're taking this target on?"

There were no objections.

"We still need to find out more about Isshiki-san's distortions before we head in," said Goro. "I'll try to get in contact with her."

"We need the keywords as well," said Morgana.

He smiled. "Right. That might take longer. I'll contact you all when I feel we have enough to go on."

"Great!" Ann got up and stretched, swinging her arms about. "Let's get out of here then."

* * *

  **Goro** : Alibaba.

 **Goro** : I'd like you tell me what you know about Isshiki Wakaba.

 **Goro** : We need further intel before we proceed.

 **Alibaba** : ? You're not going to change her heart now?

 **Goro** : It's never that easy.

 **Goro** : The Thieves can't work overnight.

 **Goro** : Approaching a target we know nothing about is a recipe for disaster.

 **Alibaba** : I know nothing more than you do.

 **Goro** : Please don't lie.

 **Goro** : I already know you're someone close to her.

 **Alibaba** : Is that a threat?

 **Goro** : No.

 **Goro** : A plea for mutual understanding.

 **Goro** : You want Isshiki's heart changed.

 **Goro** : I want my team to come out of this mission alive.

 **Alibaba** : Alive?

 **Alibaba** : What do you mean.

 **Alibaba** : What kind of danger do the Thieves put themselves in?

 **Goro** : That's a trade secret.

 **Alibaba** : I want to know.

 **Goro** : That's not within the perimeter of our agreement, is it?

 **Goro** : We change her heart, you pass along her files to us.

 **Goro** : Naturally, we won't leak them.

 **Alibaba** : It's all going to be published soon anyway.

 **Alibaba** : I think.

 **Goro** : You're not sure?

 **Goro** : You're aware that if you leave anything out, we won't be able to succeed.

 **Alibaba** : I know.

 **Alibaba** : Remember what I told you about that politician Shido.

 **Goro** : Yes.

 **Goro** : How is he involved with Isshiki?

 **Alibaba** : It's complicated.

 **Alibaba** : I don't know everything but

 **Alibaba** : They used to work together.

 **Goro** : ?

 **Alibaba** : When Shido was first elected to the Diet

 **Alibaba** : He helped Isshiki get a research position with the government and funded her work.

 **Goro** : Unbelievable.

 **Goro** : What did he get out of it?

 **Alibaba** : He had an interest in the cognitive world too.

 **Alibaba** : Back then it might have been genuine.

 **Alibaba** : He had a different reputation.

 **Goro** : How?

 **Alibaba** : You should look these things up yourself.

 **Alibaba** : But whatever.

 **Alibaba** : Shido was seen as more open-minded and flexible than the previous government.

 **Alibaba** : Wanting to open Japan's borders to intellectual thought and scientific knowledge from around the world.

 **Alibaba** : A lot of people had hope in him. Thought he was the future.

 **Alibaba** : He got a lot of experimental research funded as a result.

 **Alibaba** : A lot of it tanked, of course. There was no supervision to make sure any of it was legitimate whatsoever.

 **Alibaba** : There was a huge backlash from the public and other members of the Diet about wasteful government spending.

 **Alibaba** : Shido moved away from Isshiki and put her work in the dungeon.

 **Alibaba** : He didn't want to be associated with her.

 **Goro** : Why not fire her?

 **Alibaba** : I think he knew it was going to be the real deal eventually.

 **Goro** : He's threatening her now though.

 **Goro** : You'd think he'd be validated his original gambit paid off.

 **Alibaba** : You mean bragging rights?

 **Alibaba** : Maybe the Shido then.

 **Alibaba** : The person he is now wants something else.

 **Goro** : To use the cognitive world for his own gain.

 **Alibaba** : You've got it.

 **Alibaba** : And he won't be able to do that successfully if the public knows about it.

 **Goro** : There would be other people in the way. Scientists, politicians, journalists...

 **Alibaba** : Exactly.

 **Alibaba** : Thugs like him just want to hoard power so they can better crush people under their heel.

 **Alibaba** : It doesn't matter if their lives are poorer as a result.

 **Alibaba** : They'll take everything so everyone else is reduced to nothing.

 **Goro** : You hate him.

 **Alibaba** : I do.

 **Alibaba** : He's turned Isshiki into a completely different person due to his selfishness.

 **Alibaba** : She wasn't like this before.

 **Goro** : I have to ask.

 **Goro** : Why don't you want me to change Shido's heart instead?

 **Alibaba** : ...

 **Alibaba** : I don't know.

 **Alibaba** : I care about Isshiki's wellbeing.

 **Alibaba** : I don't care if Shido rots in hell.

 **Goro** : Or if he gets elected?

 **Alibaba** : ?

 **Goro** : That's the alternative here.

 **Goro** : It's not about changing someone's heart so they can magically become a better person overnight.

 **Goro** : It's about preventing them from causing any further harm to other people.

 **Goro** : And making sure they stay in prison.

 **Alibaba** : I hadn't thought about that.

 **Alibaba** : Maybe the Thieves are darker than I thought.

 **Goro** : Please.

 **Goro** : That's my personal opinion.

 **Goro** : Don't rope the others into this.

 **Alibaba** : You're a funny guy.

 **Alibaba** : I'd like to see how you work sometime.

 **Goro** : We can make that happen.

 **Alibaba** : Are you serious?

 **Goro** : Take the plunge, Alibaba.

 **Alibaba** : Don't be ridiculous.

 **Alibaba** : I'm a hacker.

 **Alibaba** : Not... whatever you do.

 **Goro** : The Thieves come from all walks of life.

 **Goro** : You'd be surprised if you saw us in person.

 **Goro** : Nevertheless.

 **Goro** : Isshiki.

 **Goro** : Tell me everything about her.

 **Goro** : The sooner we understood completely what makes her tick the better.

 **Goro** : We may need access to more files as well.

 **Alibaba** : Fine.

 **Alibaba** : I'm putting my faith in you here.

 **Alibaba** : But I won't let myself be played.

 **Alibaba** : Save Isshiki or I'll get someone else to do it.

 **Alibaba** : The Phantom Thieves aren't the only game in town.

 **Goro** : Yet you came to us first.

 **Goro** : I wonder why that is?

* * *

"Prison," he offered into the Nav the day after.

_No candidates found._

"Ah," intoned Kitagawa. "Going dark right away, are we?"

Goro smiled. The Thieves had come to Leblanc after school and were currently in its attic, the Shibuya passageway having gotten too small for comfort for five plus one. Plus, despite the fact they'd never gotten caught didn't mean talking about Thief business in the open was a wise idea. In retrospect, they'd all been incredibly lucky no one had ever eavesdropped on them, considering that was half of how Goro gathered his information nowadays.

"Considering what Alibaba told me," he said. "I think Isshiki-san knows she's in an untenable position right now. I can't imagine her workplace is a source of joy for her."

"Who the hell even is this Alibaba?" said Ryuji. "You got any clues about their identity?"

"All in good time," Goro said. Next to him, Morgana glowered. "For now, let's just work on the keywords."

"How about... jail?" offered Ann.

_No candidates found._

"Dude, that's the same thing - "

"I know, Ryuji! I'm just blanking out right now."

"Otherworld," said Nijima. "Heaven?"

Goro looked at her, and she crossed her arms sheepishly. "It's possible she might view the cognitive world in a positive way."

_No candidates found._

"Good idea," said Kitagawa. "Then - Olympus. Asgard. Yggdrasil. Fuji-san - "

_No candidates found._

"Perhaps something else," Goro said as the boy deflated. "Again, I think something more on the side of anguish will work. After all, Isshiki-san is - " He stopped, and thought about it. "How do we think she views herself, in the context of her life and career?"

"Well..." Ann began. "Alibaba said she's obsessed with her research, right? To the point where she never comes home and it's all she can think about."

"I can imagine the stress she is under," said Kitagawa. "To devote one's life to a single project, dismissed as superstitious nonsense by the public, underfunded and opposed by her once-greatest supporter. It is... a hard place to be."

Yes, Kitagawa would be able to identify with that, Goro thought. Not that he meant it unkindly.

"A queen in exile," Nijima said suddenly.

_No candidates found._

But.

"She's not in exile," Goro said. "She still has her work. Her personal life, ostensibly. It's more like - "

"Maybe she feels confined," said Ann. "As if there's nowhere for her in the world but her workplace."

"Like she's trapped," said Morgana. He'd been quiet the whole time, but now his gaze was bright. He was thinking. "There's no way out from her situation, so she just keeps going forward and hoping it'll work out."

"Yes," said Goro. "Now how would we make that work - "

"A tomb," Kitagawa said. "She feels as if she's being entombed. Like a pharaoh's crypt."

_Candidate found._

Ryuji whistled, and Ann clapped her hands. "Nice work," said Nijima.

Kitagawa was looking at Goro. He cleared his throat. "Very good."

"Thank you," said Kitagawa, pinking.

"So... should we head over now?" said Ryuji. "We still got loads of time."

"Let's," said Nijima. "Our purpose is only to observe though."

"Right." Goro got up. "No triggering any enemies."

"Isshiki Wakaba, here we come!"

* * *

Isshiki's workplace was in a nondescript office building located on a dingy side street in Chiyoda-ku. Unlike many of the more impressive government buildings in the ward, this place looked like it had had its last heyday circa the last century. Concrete, the paint a dull brown that had stripped over the years, outdated foggy windows... even the landscaping looked pathetic.

"Wow," said Ann, looking up with her hands in her hoodie pockets. "A government researcher really works here? It looks terrible."

"Hopefully we won't need to go inside," said Goro, taking out his phone. "Are we ready?"

"Ready," said Nijima, and tensed.

And once more, the Metaverse bled into the world around them.

* * *

 The first thing Goro noticed was that he was incredibly warm.

The second was that he was lying down, and his uniform was full of sand.

"Ugh!" he heard Ann say, as he staggered to his feet. "What the hell." She was shaking sand out of her sweater.

"We're in a desert," said Nijima, smoothing over her skirt. "But where's the Palace?"

Goro looked around. Only glittering dunes as far as the eye could see.

"Yo," said Ryuji. "Over there! Look." He pointed to the far off distance, where a faint trace of blockish shapes was visible.

"It looks quite a ways off," said Kitagawa. "How do you suppose we...?"

"Mona," said Nijima. "Would you do us the honours?"

"If you insist, Queen," said Morgana, and transformed.

They all clambered inside, and Nijima drove with Ann in the front, leaving Goro sandwiched in between Ryuji and Kitagawa. Not a bad place to be, honestly, though the fact that he could still feel the grit of sand in his hair was soon going to annoy him.

Never mind. It was annoying now.

"Hey!" said Ryuji, when Goro bent forward and scrubbed vigorous fingers through his hair. "You mind not getting that on me while you're doing that?"

"Sorry," Goro said.

(He was not sorry.)

"There's some on your neck," said Kitagawa, and without pause took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the back of Goro's neck with it, cloth and fingers all creeping below his sweating collar.

Goro stared into the front mirror and saw Ann looking at him with a curious look on her face.

Oh no, he thought. But it was too late.

"So," she said, leaning back in her seat. "Don't you all think senpai and Yusuke get along really well?"

"Do they?" Ryuji yawned. "I thought Goroboy got along with everyone."

"Don't call me that," said Goro.

"Well, I'm not gonna call you Crow! We're not even in our costumes right now."

"I meant - call me senpai. Like Ann. Don't be so uncouth."

"Uncouth?" said Ann.

"Vulgar," said Nijima, a smile threatening to break her face. "Rude. Why don't you call him senpai, Ryuji?"

"I don't know, 'cause it feels stiff? And no offense, but this guy's serious as it is - "

"I take full offense," said Goro.

"See? See?" Ryuji put a hand on his chest and closed his eyes. "Oh, _Sakamoto!_ Why haven't you learned ten thousand new kanji since the last time we studied together? I picked up twenty thousand this morning alone!"

"Ryuji, stop," Ann said, but she was snickering.

"Stop? Don't you mean, _cease this nonsense right now, Sakamoto!_ Why, in my day - "

"The next time you pass out in battle," Goro said. "I'm letting you die."

"Die? Don't you mean _leave the mortal coil?_ "

"Ryuji."

"Goro."

"We're done here." Goro turned away from him to Kitagawa's side.

"Aw, come on! Take a joke, man."

"In our leader's defense," said Kitagawa. "You've been the only one laughing."

"Not true," said Ryuji. "Ann was laughing."

"I was not," she said. "I was... it's not that funny... I mean, it is, but - "

"You're off the team too, Panther."

Her grin vanished in a second. "Hey! Not fair."

"Don't be so stiff, Akechi-kun," said Nijima. "It's not so bad, letting juniors call you by name."

"Yeah! It's not like the Thieves are hierarchical or anything."

Goro wrinkled his nose. "Does this really matter?"

"It's... been good for me so far," said Nijima. "The only person who used to call me Makoto is my big sister, and she's so busy nowadays she almost never comes home."

"I get to chat with my parents like every other week," said Ann. "And trust me, when they call me Ann, I just feel like we're all together. Even if they're half across the world and I'm running around Palaces. It feels _really_ nice."

"Well, don't worry about me," said Ryuji. "My mom's nagging me day and night. Ryuji this, Ryuji that - "

"Ryuji, your mom's awesome! Talk smack about her and you're going to catch hands."

"Hey, I love her, alright? I'm just sayin'.”

"Yusuke," said Nijima. "What about you?"

"It was the same for me," said he, his arm pressed against Goro's. "Before I met you, only Sensei used my name. I am Kitagawa to everyone else, even my peers at school."

But it was Goro he had given a quick glance at, then looked out the window.

Goro swallowed. "Do you want me to call you Yusuke, then?"

Kitagawa's face was like a portrait; perfectly still.

"Do it," said Ann. "You can't be so formal with everyone all the time!"

"Yes," said Kitagawa, and his pale face flushed. "I'd like that very much indeed."

"I will, then," Goro found himself saying, and saw Ann giving him a thumbs up and a wink in the mirror. He tried it out: "Yusuke." It was awkward on his tongue, but the look of unabashed joy on Kita - Yusuke's face was enough.

"Cheers," said Ryuji. "Now, whenever he uses your last name you know he's pissed."

"Sakamoto."

"Hah! Just like that."

"What about me, Akechi-kun?" said Nijima. "I haven't been a part of this team as the rest of you, but - "

"No, it's fine," said Goro. "We're the only third-years here, after all." Then, because everyone was still looking at him in some capacity or another: "Makoto."

Nijima - Makoto broke into a grin. "Thank you, Goro."

"Why. Are. You. Red. Right. Now?!" Ryuji pounded Goro's shoulder. "Does that mean - "

"No," said Goro. "It doesn't."

"Ryuji, let him be in his feelings! It was a big deal for us too."

"Yeah, you're right. What if it turns out Morgana has another name too?"

"Sakamoto," said Goro, who was very red because of the heat and heat alone. "One more word and I am going to push you out of the Mona bus myself."

"Fine, fine!" Ryuji put a hand over his mouth in a show of silence. "Can't let a guy have fun, can you?"

"Never."

Then.

"So, Goroboy - "

* * *

One mildly defenestrated Skull later, they'd made it to the Palace, an enormous golden pyramid with a set of stairs leading up to the entrance. It seemed the Metaverse was taking the keyword tomb to its most iconic connotation.

"Here we go..." said Morgana. "Remember, we're here for reconnaissance only! If we find Shadows, just hide for now."

"Yes," said Goro, and pushed the door open.

No Shadows lurked as they approached the interior. "More stairs," said Makoto. "Odd. It really doesn't seem as if the Palace ruler is on guard."

"She just hasn't been alerted to us," said Ann. "Right?"

Then they saw someone.

"Hide!" said Morgana, and they all snapped to behind a corner. "Crow, what does it look like?"

Goro frowned as he peeked. "It has to be a Shadow," he said. "Looks like a young girl in a white dress - with orange hair."

Oh.

Oh no.

Why was _she_ here?

His mouth felt numb.

Despite the risk, he started walking towards her.

"What the hell!" Ryuji hissed. "Mona, get him!"

"Wait," said Morgana. "No, I think I know her too. Guys, I think it's alright."

Goro approached the figure, and she turned her face to him.

She looked almost as she did in reality. Long, dyed orange hair, black-rimmed glasses, a white cotton dress, with heavy gold jewellery in the style of ancient Egypt on her neck and arms, a crown on her head. She looked like she belonged here.

Even with her Shadow-yellow eyes, she looked just like the girl Goro knew.

As the Thieves came up behind him and Morgana gave a mournful meow of recognition, Goro knew it was pointless to hide her identity from them - Alibaba's identity - any longer.

"Hello, Futaba," he said. "What are you doing here?"

And to his own surprise, she smiled, and took his hands.

"You're here," she said, this being that was Futaba and yet wasn't. "You're really here, Akechi. You must have heard my prayers. I'm so happy."

"What prayers?" said Goro.

She blinked. "You have come to change my mother's heart, have you not?"

"Yes, we did."

"I am honoured." She sank into a deep curtsey. "I have been attempting it alone for years without avail. With you I may finally suceed."

"Uh, leader?"

"Hold on," Goro said, and turned.

The Thieves were all staring, save for Morgana, who had gone up to Futaba, and she knelt to pet him on the head.

"And you must be Morgana," she said. "It is my greatest pleasure."

"Uh, yeah." Morgana looked uncomfortable. "Hi, Futaba."

"Goro," said Makoto, and he was forced to look at the others again.

She crossed her arms. "I think you owe us an explanation."

* * *

 "So," said Makoto when it was over. "This Futaba is Isshiki Wakaba's daughter and the hacker known as Alibaba, the one who contacted us to target Isshiki-san's heart in the first place. And you've known her all along."

"Yes," said Goro.

"... I don't know why you would keep something like this from us," she said.

She sounded disappointed.

Futaba was playing with Morgana still. "I had no idea we'd find her here," said Goro. "A cognition of Futaba in her mother's Palace - "

"It makes sense," said Yusuke. "Why wouldn't Isshiki-san have strong feelings towards her daughter?"

"This is a _Palace_ ," Goro said. "Surely Futaba wouldn't be here if her mother's opinion of her wasn't distorted."

"We know," said Ann. Speaking from experience. "Senpai, are you okay? You look nervous."

"No." Goro rubbed his face to stay calm. "No, we can do this. This was the whole point of the mission. I just - "

"You care about her," said Ryuji. When Goro said nothing: "Look, you don't have to be stone cold about this. You said yourself she was living with you and Boss for like two weeks all of a sudden. That doesn't happen unless something's wrong at home." He hesitated. "And why she tried to get in touch with you first."

"I don't think the real Futaba knows I'm the person she's been talking to all along," Goro said. She'd be a lot openly ruder, for one thing. "But, yes. Let's talk to her again."

Futaba got up with Morgana trapped in her arms when they rejoined her. _Help_ , he was mouthing.

"Hello," she said. "Are you all Akechi's friends?"

"Yeah," said Ryuji, looking perturbed to be chatting with a cognition that was actively cooperative. "And we're all going to change your mom's heart together, alright?"

"Yes." She beamed. "Her Treasure is up the stairs."

"All the way up there?" said Ann. "That's a long way to go."

"The bigger question is why there's nothing in the way," said Makoto. "Futaba, are you sure this'll work out? What if your mother finds out and tries to stop us?"

"... do not worry about that." The girl's smile dimmed. "My mother is never home. You could take her Treasure now and she never discover it."

"Let's try, at least," said Goro. "Oh, and could you let go of Morgana? He's trying to breathe."

"Oh! I beg your pardon."

"Thanks for nothing, guys!" Morgana said as he was finally released from Futaba's grip. "Now let's go."

* * *

 They walked up those narrow thousand stairs, passing safe rooms all the while. The atmosphere was tense. They were still in their school uniforms, and nothing was out of place. Only Futaba trailed up the stairs - no Shadows leaping at them, hiding in dark spaces or patrolling - and led them to a door at the top. Unlike the Egyptian design of the rest of the Palace, it looked like a door you'd find in any office building, with a white frame and metal door handle, a nameplate on the front:

DR ISSHIKI WAKABA

COGNITIVE RESEARCH

"There," she said. "It is right behind this door."

"There's no way it's this easy," Ryuji muttered. "Something's gonna happen."

"Ryuji, do _not_ jinx this for us," Ann said, hands tense at her sides.

"Stay on guard," said Makoto. "We don't know what to expect here."

"I'll be our lookout," said Morgana. "Crow?"

"Copy that," said Goro, and turned the handle.

A siren went off.

"Fuck, I knew something was going to happen!" snarled Ryuji. "Where is it?"

"Prepare to fight," said Makoto. "Damn it, why aren't we transforming?" She looked at her bare hands in frustration.

"No," said Futaba, crumpling. "I don't understand." She began to pound on the door. “Why won't you let me in?”

"Futaba, stop,” said Goro. "It's not your fault." He looked around. There was still no one in pursuit. "We need to find a safe room, now - "

**FUTABA. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW?**

The voice trembled throughout the entire vast room and made the walls shake. Goro stumbled and caught himself before he fell.

"Hide," said Futaba. "You all must hide, now!" She pushed Goro and the others away, towards a pillar to cower behind. "There, there! Don't let yourself be seen - "

**FUTABA. I TOLD YOU NOT TO ENTER MY SANCTUM.**

Where was the voice coming from? It sounded like a god from overhead, a distorted phone call, someone using a microphone, it came from within his heart. It was everywhere, and it made Goro's ears ache.

There was no one in sight. But Futaba sank to her knees and pressed her head to the ground, as if in prayer.

"I beg your pardon, great Pharaoh," she whispered. "I must have set off a trap by accident - "

**ALL YOU DO IS LIE, FUTABA. YOU DISAPPOINT ME.**

"Great Pharaoh, I do not lie!" Futaba's voice quivered. "I have not done anything you have told me not to do."

**ENOUGH, FUTABA.**

**HAVE I NOT TOLD YOU WHAT IS MOST PRECIOUS TO ME IN THIS WORLD?**

**YOU.**

**COUNTLESS TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT TO ME.**

**I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERYTHING.**

**FREEDOM.**

**A LIFE WITHOUT JUDGMENT.**

**THE WHOLE WORLD IS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.**

**SO WHY DO YOU PERSIST?**

**WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO BOTHER ME WHEN I HAVE TOLD YOU I WISH TO BE LEFT ALONE?**

**WHY DO YOU ASSUME YOU KNOW BETTER FOR ME THAN I DO?**

"Because I am right, Pharaoh." Futaba lifted her head back up, tears down her face. "No - Mother. Please, let me see you! I have not seen your illuminated face in years - "

**YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO MAKE AN AUDIENCE WITH ME.**

"Mother..."

**YOU HAVE LIED TO ME ONCE MORE, FUTABA.**

**DO NOT THINK I HAVE NOT NOTICED.**

**WHAT MANNER OF THIEVES HAVE YOU INVITED INTO MY HOME?**

"Fuck," said Ryuji.

"There is no one," said Futaba, staring at them with wet eyes. "No one but I. Mother - "

**YOU LIE.**

And something within Goro's primal senses told him it was time to leave.

"We have to go," he said. "Mona - "

"Bus! Bus! I get it!" Morgana popped back into his four-wheeled form, and the Thieves scrambled back in.

"Don't go," said Futaba. "Please don't leave me alone again!"

**AH, THERE YOU ARE.**

The whole pyramid began to vibrate, and a wave of terror swept through the Thieves. The damn place was going to collapse in on them.

"Mona, go!" shouted Makoto, and the bus screeched down the endless stairs of the pyramid back to the entrance.

"No! Please don't go!" Futaba was wailing. "Don't leave me here by myself! I can't do it alone anymore!"

And behind them, the walls of the pyramids came down one by one.

* * *

The Nav spat them back out onto the street, and Goro lay on his back on asphalt and found his face wet with tears.

"We're in for it now," Ryuji grumbled beside him. "Yo, leader - "

His jaw dropped. Goro turned away and rubbed at his face. "Please don't."

"Senpai, are you crying?"

"No." He screwed his eyes shut, began to stumble away. "I'm not. Leave me be."

Yusuke grabbed his shoulder before Goro walked into a telephone pole. "It's alright," the boy said. He held up his handkerchief again, and Goro buried his face in it.

"It's okay to be upset," Makoto said. "You said it yourself. She's a friend to you."

"It's not that." Goro didn't look at them until his face was dry again. "I didn't - I should have known. Before - when she left - she asked me how the Thieves changed people's hearts. She said she would do anything to find out. Why didn't I take it seriously? Even when I knew she was Alibaba, I assumed - " He kicked the ground. "I let myself pretend it was an ordinary mission. That I could do it without getting emotional - "

"Goro," said Morgana, circling his ankle. "Goro. We're going to save Futaba too. When we're done, she won't be alone again."

"Right," said Makoto. "This is for her, more than anyone else." Her voice softened. "And maybe you should talk to her in person, too. Let her know you care about her."

"She won't answer my calls as myself. Only as a Thief." Goro laughed. "Isn't that just great? Alibaba will never agree to meet with me face-to-face. She's already threatened to go to someone else if we don't change Isshiki-san's heart soon. How am I going to get to her?"

"Well," said Yusuke. "How did you get to me when Sensei wouldn't let me contact you?"

"I used Futaba," said Goro. "And - "

He stopped, and felt his face flush up again, because he was an _idiot_.

"How fortunate, then," said Yusuke with a small smile. "That we both go to Kosei."

* * *

 "Hey," said Kurusu that evening in Leblanc. "You're not looking too hot tonight."

"Huh?" said Goro.

"You've been wiping the same plate for ten minutes. And unless it's got the nastiest stains known to mankind..."

He set it down. "It doesn't."

The boy put his hand up on his chin. "Want to tell me what's up?"

"You're not my therapist."

"No," said Kurusu. "But I am your friend, right?"

Goro scowled. "There's been a lot of that word today."

"Friend?"

"Yes." He grimaced. "My _friends_ had to persuade me to use first names with them, even after we've known each other for months now. Then I discovered another friend was in great pain, and I'd missed the signs because I hadn't tried harder to help her when she first asked me - " He closed his eyes. "Everything's a hot mess right now."

Kurusu snorted.

Loudly.

"Excuse me?" said Goro.

"Sorry." The boy rubbed an eye. "Just... someone like you saying the phrase _hot mess_. It's so... incongruent."

Goro looked down at his hands. "Somehow I don't feel like using the thousand yen words tonight."

"You don't have to," said Kurusu. "So, tell me. What's up?"

Goro stared at him.

There was no one else in the cafe.

Boss was running errands and picking up supplies for Leblanc.

Once again, Futaba hadn't responded to any of his texts, and Alibaba was silent.

He could only wait until tomorrow to head to Kosei after school and catch Futaba before she left, or more likely, egged him on sight.

Kurusu was a detective.

Kurusu was a fellow teenager.

Kurusu was a friend... wasn't he?

At this point, there was very little to lose.

So Goro told him.

No, he didn't go on about the Metaverse or even mention names. He wasn't wholly braindead. Merely that he had a friend who was having difficulties with her mother, and he was at a loss at how to help her.

(He wasn't. But overnight change of hearts and temperaments was a Phantom Thief thing. Everyone else took relationship counselling.)

"I see," said Kurusu, when he was done. "No wonder you're out of it."

"I didn't realise how completely alone she was until now," Goro said. "I should have known better."

"Look on the bright side. At least she felt comfortable enough to even ask you how to fix things, in the beginning."

Goro frowned. "Does it? I shut her down, and - "

"Akechi," said Kurusu. "I think you're reading too much into it."

He glared. "Isn't this situation partially my fault?"

"Is it? Like you said, you didn't know. And it's not like she gave you that much to work with. She won't talk to you even now."

"Yes," said Goro. "But - "

"So why do you think it's your job to fix her problems for her?"

"... Kurusu," he said. "She's fifteen."

"You're eighteen," said Kurusu, as if his argument was self-evident. "And I might not be around as much as I'd like, but your life seems hectic enough already without trying to resolve another person's life issues."

"So?"

" _So_ ," emphasized he. "Why set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm?"

Goro froze up.

For a moment he was so angry he couldn't breathe, and Kurusu seemed to know he'd gone too far. He eased an inch back in his chair and looked at Goro warily, but didn't apologize.

Eventually, all he could muster was, "Why do you do what you do if you don't think any of it matters, Kurusu?"

"Did I say that?" said Kurusu.

Goro walked away, and went upstairs.

Morgana was lying on the couch, tail flicking in front of him as Goro sat down. Much as Boss had grown to him, cats weren't allowed in Leblanc, and when he wasn't wandering he spent it up here.

"Hey," the cat said in a soft voice. "Just say the word and I'll kick his ass for you."

Despite it, he laughed. God, but even now it sounded so fake and presumptuous. Why was so much of Goro unappealing even to himself? "How are you going to do that."

"Easy," said Morgana. "You shove him into the Metaverse, and I'll turn into the bus and run him over. He'll be a pancake before you know it."

Goro buried his face in his hands and snickered. "Terrible."

"I bet he tastes great with syrup."

"Morgana! Please."

"Well, I don't want to let _Ryuji_ eat him."

"Okay, okay! Please stop."

"Goro," Morgana said. "We'll save her, alright? You know we will."

"... I know." Goro looked at him. "But it's not Isshiki-san we're so concerned about, are we."

"She used to work with Shido. Do you think..."

"That she's as bad as him? For Futaba's sake I hope not." He shrugged. "I don't know what he was like back then. Maybe his mask was better. Maybe he did care about cognitive science for its own purpose, and not as a tool. It's not important now."

"Still." Morgana snuck into his lap. "If Shido gets a hold of the Metaverse, what do you think he'd do with it?"

"Kill everyone who gets in his way," Goro said without hesitation. "There are rumours about him now. That he associates with the yakuza. But no one's ever been able to get proof."

"I bet he'd tank in the polls if we ever got some."

Goro scratched him behind the ear. "I'm not so sure it'd be that easy."

"We'll never know unless we try."

"Yes," he said, and Morgana smiled. "The Phantom Thieves always - "

"Akechi? Are you still mad?"

Creaking footsteps on the stairs, and then Kurusu was there, blinking over the railing at Goro and Morgana huddled up on the couch on the far side of the room.

He slipped fingers over Morgana's mouth. "No. I'm not."

"Can I come over, then?"

"... go ahead."

Morgana slunk out of Goro's lap as Kurusu approached, a hiss emerging from his lips when the boy tried to pet him.

" _Yeesh._ You're an angry guy, aren't you?"

"He's a stray," Goro lied as Morgana went downstairs and Kurusu sat down next to him.

"And he lives here?"

"At home. With Boss and I."

"Sounds cozy." Kurusu smiled, then looked down. "Hey. I'm sorry about earlier. What I said was fucked up."

"It was," Goro said.

"Ouch."

His lip curled. "Don't be funny, Kurusu."

The boy held up his hands in surrender, then dropped them when he saw Goro wasn't smiling. "Alright," he said. "What do you want me to be, then?"

Be...? "I don't want you to be anything," said Goro. "Except a little more sensitive, perhaps."

"Sensitive," repeated Kurusu.

"Does that not belong on my lips either?"

"No, no - it's fine. You just surprised me." Kurusu shrugged. "Like you always do."

"I couldn't possibly know what you mean by that."

"You do it too," Kurusu said, and when Goro narrowed his eyes, he added: "Saying stuff like that. Why pretend? You know what I mean, but you won't acknowledge it until I say it myself. Why not be honest with me?"

"... I'm always honest, Kurusu."

"See? You can't even say that with a straight face."

Goro sighed. "Is it wrong for someone like me to keep secrets?" he asked. "Do I have to bare every part of my soul to you before you'll deem me an authentic human being? I've already told you too much about my personal life as it is."

"You told me you have friends," said Kurusu. "Most people don't consider that oversharing."

"I have friends," Goro said again. "Don't you?"

The boy's smile was rigid in its plastic charm. "I have you."

"We don't even know each other, Kurusu," Goro breathed out. "I know nothing about you."

"Well. What do you want to know?"

He closed his eyes.

"I'm serious. I'll tell you. My birth date, my blood type, what grades I got in middle school - "

"You could tell me," Goro mumbled. "Why you're so invested in telling me not to care about other people so much."

Kurusu was still.

"I've never said anything like that," the boy said, his lips moving without feeling.

"No?" said Goro, pulling his knees up to his face. "Because I'd like to know. Every part of you is a contradiction. You're a private detective who's biased against government authority, yet you work cases with a public prosecutor you're close enough to use her first name with. You rescue cats from trees as a public service, but tell me I have better things to do than help a young friend who doesn't have anyone else in the world on her side. You say you admire the Phantom Thieves, but also that their change of hearts turn people into little more than obedient machines. Which is it, Kurusu? Which part of you am I supposed to believe?"

He wouldn't have been shocked then if Kurusu had gotten up and walked away.

After all, Goro had just done the same.

Instead, the boy gave an uncomfortable laugh and said, "Do I have to bare my soul to you, too?"

"You don't have to do anything," Goro whispered. "But right now I can't make sense of you at all."

"Oh." Kurusu wet his lips. "I bother you."

"You don't," said Goro. "But when you ask me to be honest, and yet you're still wearing that awful TV mask and trying to charm me like some lovesick fan, how can I not be suspicious?"

"Right. Honesty is a two-way street." Kurusu swallowed. "I... don't know where you want me to begin."

"Nowhere in particular," said Goro. "Just tell me something about yourself that's real... and I'll do the same."

"You will?" The look on his face was almost puppyish, and it made Goro ache. Why should he so excited to hear about the abject insipidity of Goro's life? Surely his was far more exciting?

"Yes," Goro said. "I promise."

"Okay," said Kurusu, and when he smiled this time he looked like a boy - really, like a sixteen-year-old boy with messy hair and slightly spotty skin on the underside of his jaw, and breath that smelled of Kona coffee. "Okay, so this one time, when I was around six, my cousin came over and told me this ghost story..."

* * *

 The next morning, Goro awoke to Morgana rolling around in his bed dreaming noisily about salmon, and the TV open in the living room to a news station.

"What is it?" he asked Boss, who was just standing there with a cup of coffee in his hand and a scowl on his face.

"More Phantom Thieves nonsense," Boss grumbled, and Goro's stomach dropped.

"Why? Have they done something recently?" He tried to keep his voice light, to no avail.

"No, it's not them. But someone calling them out." Boss snorted. "Some hacker group called Medjed just put up threats on a website. Saying they'll expose the Phantom Thieves' identities if they don't disband and turn themselves in to the police."

"Oh," said Goro, transfixed to the TV.

"And once again, this is what Medjed has written on its website," the news anchor was saying. _"'Phantom Thieves, we will come after you. You are not invincible, and you will be stopped. Stop pretending you can change people's hearts. Stop acting outside the law. Turn yourselves in, and we will forget you. But keep persisting, and we will never forgive you. You have until August 21. Signed, Medjed.'"_

* * *

  **Goro** : We have a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A world where Morgana hisses at Akira on sight. Can you even imagine.
> 
> If anyone's wondering what happened to the "case" Goro was supposed to work on with Akira, the "next time" bits are more like suggestions than guarantees. Can't promise anything alas, since they get written before the chapter does.
> 
> Every time I try to make an interaction between Akira and Goro nice and sweet they get weirdly real and adversarial. But maybe that's just their relationship? Can't say they're making it easy for each other at the moment. Their pairing is tagged for a reason, though... so just be patient. One day they'll go without an argument about morality lol.
> 
> Next time: can the Thieves possibly do all of Wakaba's Palace and boss fight in one chapter? Will Goro and Futaba make up or make each other cry? Will Akira and Goro finally have a nice moment without something going sour in the middle? Does anyone in canon or me care about Medjed to begin with? Will I remember that Shinya exists?? WHAT WILL GORO DO ON SUMMER VACATION??? Oh, the possibilities are endless!
> 
> Please comment & kudos!


	11. Steal the scientist's heart I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First you laugh; then you cry.

**11\. Steal the scientist’s heart I**

The gates of Kosei were closed until the school bell rang for the day, and yet Goro waited outside in his Shujin uniform like the troglodyte he was. Makoto had snagged him a free period and he left school early to make the trip, yet in all his wisdom, he'd failed to pack a spare set of clothes to dissuade suspicion. Most high schoolers of good repute didn't wander the streets at this time of day, and he'd been questioned by some busybodies twice and been given the stink eye by a cop in a police koban he'd passed on the way.

He couldn't shake the feeling that this encounter was going to be a disaster. He'd texted Alibaba in the morning about Medjed, and got no response. Hopefully Futaba wasn't pulling a prank here, or Goro didn't know what he would do next.

His phone buzzed.

 **Yusuke** : I managed to get a first-year to tell me where Futaba's classroom is.

 **Yusuke** : 3A.

 **Yusuke** : Unfortunately I may not have been subtle enough.

 **Yusuke** : Now my reputation at school is even more questionable than before.

 **Goro** : That's fine.

 **Goro** : Did you see her?

 **Yusuke** : Yes.

 **Yusuke** : She was in the library during lunch.

 **Yusuke** : I usually spend it in the Western garden.

 **Goro** : I'm glad to hear that.

 **Goro** : Futaba?

 **Yusuke** : She was deeply suspicious.

 **Yusuke** : She nearly threw a book at me.

 **Yusuke** : The last time we spoke she called me a “tall glass of water”.

 **Yusuke** : Now she believes me a “narc”.

 **Goro** : That could not be more Futaba if you tried.

 **Yusuke** : I do not think she will meet with you.

 **Goro** : No.

 **Goro** : Happily, I'm not alone.

 **Goro** : Thank you for your hard work, Yusuke.

 **Yusuke** : It was my pleasure.

 **Yusuke** : Goro.

“Ah,” said Morgana, paws on Goro’s shoulders. “If that's not young love, then I don't know what. A bit like me and Lady Ann.”

“Oh, Morgana,” Goro said pleasantly. “Unless your last name is Suzui, there is _nothing_ going on between you and Ann.”

"... really, Goro."

"Yes. Now shoo." He let the cat down, and Morgana slid in easily through the gaps in the gate. "3A," he said. "Lead her right to me, and you'll get everything your heart desires for dinner after."

"We better be going to Jiro's," Morgana muttered as he padded off.

Goro crossed his arms and waited. There were three points of failure in his plan to catch Futaba. First: Yusuke, their inside man, who could go through Kosei unquestioned, if not unremarked upon. Second: Morgana, a _very_ cute cat, with twice the brilliance and thrice the conceit of actual cats. Third, waiting outside the gates: Goro, the last person who should try to convince a younger girl who didn't like him to go home with him.

You see how this plan could fail? Yusuke was a being of pure human whimsy and inspiration. Unfortunately, he stuck out like a sore thumb wherever he went, and if he was lonely at Kosei as he seemed, then him approaching Futaba would seem inevitably suspicious.

Morgana was a cat, and cats were wonderful, but seldom belonged in schools.

Goro was Goro.

And so, Goro waited.

* * *

As time passed, he received texts in quick bursts from Yusuke.

 **Yusuke** : Class will be over in half an hour.

 **Goro** : Thank you.

 **Yusuke** : I hope it is not too dull out there?

 **Goro** : Not at all. Thinking the plan over right now.

 **Yusuke** : Hm? Futaba or her mother?

 **Goro** : Both.

 **Yusuke** : Truly, a proverbial two birds with one stone.

 **Goro** : I'll be glad if neither of them hate me after this.

 **Goro** : They're Boss' two favourite people in the world.

 **Goro** : And I doubt there is room in his heart for one more.

 **Yusuke** : Nonsense.

 **Yusuke** : You are very loveable, Goro.

 **Goro** : I'll take that into consideration.

 

 **Yusuke** : Math is my most difficult subject, yet I persevere.

 **Yusuke** : At home Sensei would say I need devote myself only to the arts.

 **Yusuke** : Everything else being tertiary.

 **Yusuke** : But that alone would not a well-rounded person make.

 **Goro** : Exactly.

 **Goro** : I'm glad your foresight is greater than your former master's.

 **Yusuke** : Ha...

 **Yusuke** : You think so?

 **Goro** : It's always been that way.

 **Yusuke** : You honour me.

 

 **Yusuke** : I can see you from my window.

 **Goro** : Let me hide, then.

 **Yusuke** : No!

 **Yusuke** : It is enjoyable to have something else to look at for once.

 **Yusuke** : Usually I am gazing only at the trees at this time of day.

 **Goro** : Wishing class was over?

 **Yusuke** : Wondering when next spring the peony blossoms will bloom again.

 **Goro** : Perhaps that's material for your next painting.

 **Yusuke** : I am not sure I could express it properly.

 **Goro** : What harm is there in trying?

 **Goro** : If it comes out poorly you need merely hide it from the rest of the world.

 **Goro** : Or destroy it.

 **Yusuke** : Oh.

 **Yusuke** : Yes, I could.

 **Goro** : It's fine if you don't.

 **Goro** : I'm not an artist. Feel free not to take my advice.

 **Yusuke** : Oh, good.

 **Yusuke** : I did not know how to tell you that myself.

 

 **Yusuke** : I beg pardon. The teacher passed by and my phone was nearly confiscated.

 **Goro** : Then why are you still typing?

 **Yusuke** : Because you look lonely out there.

 **Goro** : I do not.

 **Goro** : Never mind.

 **Goro** : We'll talk later.

 **Yusuke** : Wait.

Goro put his phone away, and ignored the buzzing in his pocket until the school bell rang.

 **Goro** : Please go now.

 **Yusuke** : Yes!

* * *

 Students in blue and black and white uniforms began to stream from the now-open school gates in streams and trickles. A few gave Goro suspicious looks, but he just pretended to busy himself with his phone, and prayed Yusuke was _not_ typing as he went to find Futaba.

Then the inevitable call came.

"Hello?" said Yusuke, the sound of indescribable voices in argument in the background. "Goro, I am afraid Futaba is not being cooperative, neither will she let Morgana go. Will you come up to the third floor?"

"Are you talking to Akechi right now? Oh my God, tell him to stay out of my life - "

"As you can see, I would be glad for your assistance."

"GORO FUTABA JUST SAID SHE'S KIDNAPPING ME AND NEVER GIVING ME BACK HELP - "

For the love of God. Goro pushed past the students leaving and booked it inside as soon as there was space. Up the stairs and past annoyed, "Hey! Watch where you're going" and "Um, who is that guy? Is he from another school?" he burst onto the third floor hallway, where he found Futaba and Yusuke engaged in a tug-of-war with Morgana in the middle, and a healthy crowd of students looking upon and gossiping, some with phones in their hands.

He needed to shut this down. "Futaba," Goro said. "Let's go to Leblanc. I need to talk to you about something important."

"Akechi!" Futaba scowled, holding Morgana tightly to her chest. "Go away. I told you I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Goro, I don't have feeling in my tail," Morgana said, looking dazed.

"Futaba, you're hurting Morgana," Goro said. "Give him back."

"Yes, he is a valuable asset to our team," Yusuke said, reaching for the cat, who instinctively batted away his hand with a leg.

Yusuke stared at his hand, whereupon a scratch had immediately formed. "... you scratched me," he said, sounding disappointed. "Why would you do that, Morgana."

"Futaba," Goro hissed. "I know you're upset at me, and believe me, I want to apologize to you for it. But there's something you really need to know, and we can't talk about it here."

"Piss off," Futaba mouthed, giving him the free finger while Morgana now dangled helplessly in the air, her remaining arm glued tight against his neck. "I don't need your help, Akechi, I got someone else to do what you wouldn't - "

"SOMEONE HELP ME, PLEASE," screeched Morgana, and managed to claw Futaba, drawing blood and forcing her to drop him.

"Ow, Morgana! What the hell!"

He ran to Goro, who scooped him up. "You... you traitor!" Futaba said. "Fine. I was going to buy you treats after, but I guess you like Mr Mophead better. The two of you belong together anyway! You... you..."

"Finish that sentence," said Goro, "and I'll tell your mother what you've been doing behind her back." His lip curled, and he leaned close so no one else could hear. "Alibaba."

"What?" said Futaba.

"Hm," said Yusuke. "This seems an inappropriate venue for the reveal, but I'll take it."

"What the hell are they whispering?" a student said just a few feet away.

Futaba sucked in her breath. "How would you know about Alibaba," she said. "Unless - "

Her eyes were like saucers.

"No," she said. "No. You've got to be fucking with me. There's no way in hell that you're - you're - oh my God, Akechi, I hate you! I told you everything!"

And straight up tried to punch Goro in the face.

"That's enough," said Yusuke, and blocked her, closing his hand around her much smaller fist. "Don't you think you're being childish? You have no idea what Goro's been trying to do for you the past week - how we've been helping him for you."

"Get _off_ me, narc!" Futaba kicked at him, but Yusuke was both far taller, and somehow upsettingly strong, keeping her restrained and helpless to actually hurt him. Goro watched in bemusement; he'd had no idea Fox was like this.

"Let's go home, Futaba," Goro said. "Unless you want me to break our promise."

"You can't," she said, and tears began to flush up in her eyes. "If you do it, Akechi, I'm going to break every bone in your body and leak everything that's ever been in your file since birth - "

"So stop making a scene and help us. You think I want to be in this position either, having to hunt you down so you'll fulfill your end of the deal?"

"There is _much_ we are hoping to share with you," said Yusuke in magnanimous spirit, even though Futaba's nails were digging into his fingers like pockmarks. "But you must be willing to cooperate."

"Him," said Futaba. "This guy is a - is _one of you._ No freaking wonder. I thought - I just thought you had a _crush_ on him."

Oh, Futaba. Goro was really going to do something stupid now. He opened his mouth to say something aggravating when suddenly the din of the crowd fell into a suffocated silence, and a new voice broke out:

"Akechi? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, what?" Futaba said in shock, stepping back. Yusuke let go of her too, and widened his eyes at the interloper. "Are you telling me _he's_ involved too?"

"Yo," said Kurusu Akira, wearing the blue blazer, white dress shirt, and black pants of the Kosei boys' uniform. Messenger bag with the red eye sigil slung oh-so-casually over one shoulder, hair delightfully askew as usual. Dress shirt not tucked in, and worn over his pants like a hooligan.

And wearing, for some damned reason, _glasses_.

(Since when did he need glasses? Had he always been parading around Goro in contacts?)

"Having fun without me again?" Kurusu said with a grin on his face, and Goro thought about the melting into the earth and dying.

* * *

Picture the scene, if you will:

Isshiki Futaba, teary-eyed and red-faced, just recently ceased from attempting to physically assault a senior from another school, and one from her own. Weighing all of eighty pounds, with an attitude of eight hundred. Possibly a literal kappa demon in her past life.

Kitagawa Yusuke, former pupil of the now-infamous plagiarist Madarame and general school eccentric. One day to host a sold-out exhibition at the Louvre and spend three years in middle-aged bohemian travel painting the natural wonders of China in a twenty-piece collection he would never sell. For now, in the role of group strongman despite a frame resembling a scarecrow living on better times. Also, could block hits like, damn.

Akechi Goro, the outlier in his red-and-black checkered Shujin pants, holding a flustered black cat in his arms and looking, for the expression of dumbstruck hopelessness on his face like someone one-tenth his natural IQ. If he had the capacity to even _think_ at this moment he would have heard Robin Hood howling in the back of his mind.

And Kurusu Akira with his hands in his pockets, guffawing: "So, uh... Akechi. You know these people?"

"Holy shit," said Futaba, and while Goro was glad she was no longer hostile, the sheer betrayal in her tone held a different kind of danger. "Holy _shit_. Akechi, you know Kurusu?"

"Yeah," said Kurusu. "He does." His gaze turned to Yusuke. "And... both of you know Kitagawa?" He raised a brow. "That's some heavy company you're rolling in there. Wait. Is _he_ the guy you were talking about earlier?"

"Hell no I don't know Kitagawa!" said Futaba. "I just know _this_ nerd, who - "

"Futaba," said Goro with the fakest smile he had ever smiled in his life on his face. "We're on the same team, remember? You want me to help you or all your hopes and dreams are flying away into an abyss of despair and lost potential, never to return."

"You are helping me regardless!" hissed Futaba. "Or you and the rest of your merry band of chucklefucks are never going to know what hit you. You will be on Interpol's list for the rest of your short pathetic lives!"

"I'm so sorry, Kurusu," Yusuke said, and grabbed both of them by the shoulder, hauling them away with terrifying ease into the distant stairwell. "But we must depart. Now. My companions and I must discuss further our - our conversation - elsewhere - farewell - "

"For love of everything, Yusuke," Morgana howled. "Just go!"

"Yes, fine, let's!" said Futaba. "Before the teachers come and find out. Go, Akechi, go!" She pushed other students out of the way. "Will all of you just get out of here already!"

"Akechi," Kurusu was saying. "Wait. _Wait_ \- "

Goro just let himself be dragged away without responding to the other boy or even looking at him one last time. As far as he was concerned, he was already in hell.

* * *

 "So," said Futaba an hour later in Leblanc's attic, the rest of the Thieves gathered around her in awkwardly casual fashion. "You. You're a Phantom Thief."

"Guilty," said Goro, who would never again attempt subterfuge in his life now that he had been socially humiliated beyond actual torture.

"And all of _you_ are Phantom Thieves." Her gaze swivelled around the whole room like an owl with insomnia.

"Yo," said Ryuji, waving.

"That's right!" said Ann with a stiff giggle.

"Hello." Makoto bowed. "Glad to make your acquaintance."

Yusuke nodded, hands set in front of his stomach.

"And..." Futaba stared down at their smallest offending member. "Morgana. Can. Talk."

"Mrr?" said Morgana.

"What? What did he say there?"

"Nothing," said Goro.

"He's just fucking with you," said Ryuji. "Wait. I can swear around you, right?"

"Fuck off, I'm fifteen."

"Ookay then - "

"Hey! Keep it down up there!" Boss shouted.

Oh, right. They had all ran into Leblanc while he'd been in the bathroom. He didn't... technically know Futaba was here yet.

"Futaba," said Goro. "Listen."

"Fine." She crossed her arms. "Apologize."

Well, this was easily the worst thing that had ever happened to Goro.

"Futaba," he said. "We're going to change your mother's heart." He swallowed. "And we want you to join us."

It had been a risky choice, suggesting it. Every time a new member of the Thieves came into being, so did a potential liability. Goro had brought it up in the morning group text, and consensus had come to by lunch. They had all seen the cognitive Futaba in distress when they fled her mother's Palace, and all felt pity for the poor girl, even if her real self was the opposite of cooperative at the moment.

"You want _me_ to help you?" said Futaba. " _How?_ "

And like that, the dams broke open.

"The cognitive world is real, Futaba-chan," said Ann.

"It's called the Metaverse," said Ryuji. "Your mom was right."

"About _everything_ ," said Makoto. "The desires and consciousness of humans _do_ manifest - into Shadows, and Palace rulers. And all of us have Personas to fight those Shadows and make the world a better place."

"We even spoke to a cognitive version of you in your mother's Palace," said Yusuke. "She wanted us to help her as much as you do now. You both have been yearning for this for so long. How could we not help?"

"Please," said Goro. "I know this has been hard on you, Futaba. I know you've felt alone for a while, that no one wanted to help or understand you. We do." He held out his hands. "Don't you want to find out the truth about what your mother's been working on all these years? About how she truly feels about you?"

"Mrr," said Morgana. "Mrr! Mrr!"

Futaba stared down at him and reached down to stroke his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Morgana," she whispered. "I just don't understand what you're saying right now."

What Morgana was actually saying: "Futaba, get your ass into gear and fight with us!"

Goro translated: "He says you'd be a great member of the team and he loves you, even after you nearly choked him to death."

"Really, Goro?" said Morgana. "Ryuji's allowed to swear, but I'm not?"

"Oh." Futaba blinked, tears streaming at the corner of her eyes. "Come on, guys." She crumpled in onto herself. "Look, even if what you're saying is the truth, I'm just... look at me. I'm a shrimp. I can't even open a Pepsi bottle sometimes. What could I possibly do to help the Phantom Thieves?"

"Well," said Makoto. "Someone told us you're a very good hacker."

"And we kind of need one right now," said Ann, twisting her fingers in a knot. "Since we're in a little spot of trouble!"

"Some shitheel hacker threatening to dox us and ruin our lives, no problem," said Ryuji. "Noooo idea how you could help us with that."

"Medjed," said Yusuke. "I wonder. Do you think the name is relevant to Isshiki-san's Palace? They both have themes in Egyptian history - "

"Wait," Futaba squeaked. "Medjed? Are you being real right now?"

"Futaba," said Goro. "I have never lied to you a single day in your life."

* * *

 She explained on the way to Chiyoda-ku.

"What the fuck! Medjed used to be like my old hacker name," Futaba said, not even bothering to keep her voice down. The rest of the Thieves huddled around her like a protective guard so the few others on their train didn't overhear or glare too much in their general direction. "But it was when I was _young_. Still in middle school. I used it whenever I was bored and felt like hacking a website and leaking information for fun. But that was years ago. I even gave it up because it got boring and no one cared." She scowled. "Who the hell is this copycat and why are they jacking my swagger?"

"Swag... ger," said Yusuke in a moment of perfect contemplation. "Hm."

"The point is," said Goro in a low voice. "They've threatened to reveal our identities if we don't give ourselves in to the police soon. And that is not happening."

"No way in hell," said Ryuji.

"Come on, Futaba-chan," said Ann. "You know you want to."

"We believe in you," said Makoto. "And we want to help you to the best of our abilities."

"'tis seldom one gets the chance to wrestle with their most personal demons while surrounded with friends who support them," said Yusuke. "It was the most liberating experience of my life."

"The Awakenings are very empowering, yes," said Goro. "Futaba. I meant everything I said to you as Alibaba."

"What," said Futaba. "The mean shit too?"

"No," said Goro.

"Fine." She crossed her arms. "What does Morgana have to say about this?"

"I don't want to be a part of this conversation," said Morgana.

"He says, welcome to the team," said Goro.

"Goro!" said Morgana.

"I'm in," said Futaba.

* * *

"Alright," said Goro. "Stay calm."

"Holy fucking shit," said Futaba. "The cognitive world is _real_."

* * *

"Stay behind us," Queen warned as Goro and Skull tried to open the pyramid entrance in futile effort. "The Palace ruler's deemed us enemies since the last time we were here, so there'll be Shadows everywhere who'll kill you if they get a chance. Do _not_ let that happen."

"Yeah," said Futaba, staring at all their costumes in shock. "Yeah, um... I'll listen now. Hoo boy."

"It's no good," said Goro. "We'll have to find another way in."

"Let's look around," said Ann. "Um, here, Futaba-chan. Let's go search together."

She led Futaba away by the hand. The rest of the team scattered too, and soon they found an alternate entrance in the form of a hole in the ground that led to the pyramid's underground levels.

"Wait, wait!" Futaba yelped when without a word both Skull and Queen jumped into the hole and vanished. "You're not serious, right? We're going to die if we do that!"

"The Metaverse isn't like the real world," said Goro. "Belief here is more powerful than reality. Belief _is_ reality. If you believe you'll survive this fall, you will."

"We've all basically gotten shot and shocked and set on fire a thousand times and still gotten up after," said Panther. "So yeah! No biggie."

"No, definite biggie!" Futaba howled, and screamed as Panther suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped down with her. "Akechi, help me - "

And then she was gone.

"Oh, brother," muttered Mona, and jumped down next, leaving Goro and Fox.

"Things are proceeding nicely, aren't they?" said Fox. "She's taking this better than we thought."

Goro smiled. "She's not trying to desecrate my face anymore, so yes, I'll take everything else as a positive."

"And what a shame it would have been too, had she marked it," said the other boy, and leapt down with the lightness of a feather and the grace of a fox.

"What?" said Goro, and despite his words to Futaba, nearly landed face-first on his way down.

* * *

Futaba had been angry before, but now her face as they traversed through the first of the dungeons under the Palace and fought their way back up to the main staircase was pure wonderment and exhilaration at the fantastical world unveiling before her.

"Holy shit, Skull, that Swift Strike - "

"Panther, where is your fire coming from?"

"Mona, you can heal people? How is that even possible!"

"Oh my God, Queen! You just knocked them out in one attack!"

"Fox! I take back everything I said about you! That Bufudyne was insane!"

And, of course...

"You! Why do you all of people get multiple Personas when everyone else is much cooler and only has one!"

Unable to stop himself, Goro grinned despite the weariness already setting in his bones. "Jealous?"

"Yes!" she cried out. "Give me one!"

"Be patient," said Goro. "Come on, we're almost to the staircase again - "

And then they were there, and the two Futabas were staring at each other.

One, in her Kosei uniform, sweating from the exertion of running around everywhere, and openly gawking.

The other, stepping forward with her hands in front of her.

"You all came back," whispered the cognitive Futaba with tears in her eyes. "And you! My other self!" She flung her arms around Futaba, who stood rigid; petrified. "With the two of us combined, surely our Mother will see reason!"

"Akechi..." Futaba began with pure terror in her voice. " _What_ am I looking at right now?"

Goro stepped forward. "Futaba, this is a cognitive version of you. Basically, it's how Isshiki-san perceives you in her mind."

"Mom sees me as an Egyptian ghost princess?"

"... it's a metaphor," Skull said. "Look, it doesn't really make sense, but Palaces are more about feelings than anything else. Don't think too hard about it or this place will probably actually fall down and kill us."

"Skull's right," said Goro. "Futaba?"

"Yes?" said both Futabas at once.

"I meant... cognitive Futaba." She wandered to him on her delicate floating feet while the real one grumbled over to Panther's side. "How have you been since the last time we met? Are you alright?"

She laced her fingers together. "I am fine," she said in her small voice. "But now you see Mother has locked the staircase leading to her Treasure within many barriers. You will have to go through the whole Palace and unlock them before we can access it again."

"I see," Goro said.

"Oh! I will help, of course," she said. "Mother has warned the Shadows to be leery of me, but even so, I know this Palace better than she sometimes." She smiled wanly. "At least with the barriers around, she will not notice your presence for a while yet. Please, do try your best."

"We will," Goro promised. "We came back for you, after all."

"I know," she said. "I know, I know! Please - let us go forward and pursue our first dungeon!"

"Wait," said the real Futaba.

The cognitive Futaba stopped, and floated over to her likeness. "Yes?"

"You..." said Futaba. "How long have you been here?"

"How long?" The cognitive blinked her stark yellow eyes. "I... am not sure. Time does not pass in the Palace as it does elsewhere. I could have existed for a thousand years and not know one day from another."

"Guess," said Futaba. "Please. Tell me how long you've existed for... how long my mom's thought of you - and me - like this."

"Do you remember your first memory here, Futaba?" Goro asked, and once again, when both looked at him he wondered how he could possibly separate the two of them while together.

"... yes," said the cognitive. "I - I remember when the Palace was not so large. When it was not yet a pyramid, nor did it have so many layers."

"When the distortion was small," said Queen.

"Tell me," said Futaba. "When did Mom's workplace stop being fun for her, and became something she felt she _needed_ to do or else?"

"I... I cannot remember," said cognitive Futaba. "I only recall - no, not even the sight of windows. There have never been any windows in this place." She looked torn. "I wonder what it means?"

"Perhaps," ventured Fox. "The workplace was the initial spark of distortion to begin with."

"She could have worked in a different location before," said Goro. "And when she was forced to relocate here after her funding was cut - "

"She got pissed," said Futaba. "Got it."

Her voice had gone flat. Cognitive Futaba looked nervous, floating a foot above her human twin. "Have I said something wrong?" 

"Nah," said Futaba, and her voice was breaking. "Nah. It's just - I was like three years old then when she moved locations to this shithole she works in now. So, to think my mom's had this Palace for so long - that she's been fucked in the head for so long, and I had no idea. I just thought she'd turned into this work-obsessed freak who only talks about cognitive crap and getting revenge on Shido recently, but she's always been like this, hasn't she?" Tears dripped down her face. "I never had a chance."

"Futaba," Queen said in a soft voice. "The Palace is a distortion of her true nature. She doesn't really feel like this - "

"Well, which the fuck is it!" Futaba shouted. "Is the Palace how she really feels about me or not? If it's not, then _why_ the fuck am I doing here? And if it is, then why the fuck am _I_ doing here?" She began to sob. "This is so messed up. I don't want to do this anymore."

"You have to," said Goro.

"Fuck off, Akechi."

"Futaba. We're doing this for you," he snapped. "I _knew_ from the minute you talked to me as Alibaba who you were. I accepted the request _only_ because it was you. _I want to help you, Futaba._ "

She shook her head. "At this point I don't even know how it would help. Change my mom's heart and she won't even be someone I know anymore. I won't even be saving her because the person I thought I was saving doesn't even exist. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?"

The others were silent. The changes of heart had all worked to their benefits - but the targets had been criminals, those who deserved the full brunt of the Thieves' justice upon them.

Isshiki Wakaba was by all means a workaholic, neglectful to her only family left in this world, and obsessed with revenge.

But there were a lot of people like that in the world, and if that alone meant she needed to have her heart changed, then so did a billion other people.

Including Goro.

"Tell me what you want to do, Futaba," he said, keeping his hands tight behind his back. "Do you want to go home? We'll go home and never talk about Palaces or the Metaverse again. Tell us to go forward and change your mother's heart, and we'll do that. _But we are not doing this Palace without you._ The only reason I agreed to Alibaba's request was _because it was you._ I - " He nearly choked on his words, gritted them out with all the breath he had left in his lungs. "You have no idea how much I've worn myself out - wondering if you were safe, texting you constantly to make sure you knew I was still thinking about you, hoping you would realize there was still someone left in this world who wanted to help you. I would have never turned you down, do you get it? It didn't matter if Alibaba pissed in my hands and gave me nothing, I would have done it regardless because I care about you!"

"Akechi," Futaba said, and began to cry again. "I..."

"Pick an answer in the next five minutes, Futaba," Goro said. "Because I am not doing this again."

And walked away.

* * *

"Holy shit," said Skull. "I have never seen him lose it like that."

"I..." Panther was at a dead loss, her mouth agape.

"Hey. Futaba," Queen said. "Futaba, it's alright. He didn't mean it."

"Oh, he meant it," Skull said, and Futaba crumpled into a ball and cried.

"I did it," she said, tears streaming through her fingers. "I did it again. First Mom hated me, and now Akechi. What next? I haven't talked to Sojiro in weeks. Maybe he hates me too, and that's why I'm alone. Again."

"You're not," said Mona, padding over. "Futaba. Hey. Look at me."

"Morgana," she sniffled. "I really pissed Akechi off, didn't I?"

"Yes," said Fox, his tone severe. "Yes, you did."

"Not helping, Fox!" 

"It doesn't matter anymore," said he. "I am disappointed as well."

And he left them to walk the stairs down to Crow, leaning against the door of the pyramid entrance with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

After a moment, incredulously, the cognitive Futaba left as well.

"I'm sorry," Futaba whispered. "I'm sorry. I made you all come up here, and for nothing. You must hate me too."

"No, Futaba," said Panther. "We don't hate you." She kneeled and rubbed the girl's back. "It's okay to be upset. You just got dealt some heavy information - "

"Plus, it's your mom," said Skull. "Listen. For us, taking Kamoshida down was easy. He was a scumbag even the police didn't bother with. If we hadn't changed his heart, he would have continued abusing students at Shujin forever." He bit his lip. "But this is different. Your mom's not a criminal. She's just - "

"It's not that," Futaba mumbled, taking her glasses off, her face puffy and flushed beyond measure.

"... here. I got a handkerchief."

"Thanks." She rubbed her face in it. "Thanks," Futaba said again, and laughed a little.

"We're all ears," said Queen. "Please, tell us how you're feeling."

"It's just..." She sucked on her lip. "I thought that if I could change my mom back to the way she used to be, everything would be great. She'd... spend time with me again, and not argue on the phone all night along about things that didn't matter. But they do." She closed her eyes. "This research matters to her. She's a workaholic because she cares about her job, even if it gets her no respect. And Shido..."

"We heard all about him," said Mona. "He's a scumbag to the tenth degree."

"Yeah. So who am I... why am I preventing Mom from trying to take revenge on him?" She rubbed at her eyes with Skull's handkerchief. "She has files of him, you know. Allegations about allying with yakuza... anecdotal reports from the people he's hurt over the years... suspicious money wires to no-name companies. There isn't evidence for all of them, but if she leaked them at the right time it could end his career. Isn't it good that someone wants to fight against someone like Shido?"

"Maybe," said Queen. "But what about how she treats you, Futaba? Do you think that's right, too?"

Futaba buried her head in her knees. "I deserve it."

"The hell you do," said Skull. "You're fifteen, the hell have you done to deserve your mom neglecting you and treating you like shit?"

"She doesn't... treat me like shit," said Futaba. "She just - "

"She's just not there like she used to be," said Queen. "Right?"

Futaba nodded, and wiped at her eyes again.

"Maybe she never was," she said. "And I was just too young and naive to get it. Maybe she's just like this, and I assumed that a mother would be different because - because I love my mom, and yet she's not there for me when I need her, it can't be her, right? It has to be something else. It has to be something out of her control, because if she'd never hurt me on purpose, it couldn't be her true feelings when she tells me I'm rude and annoying and that I need to be more like Akechi, someone who's never had parents and doesn't cry about it, doesn't feel lonely and never - never feels like he's not enough for those around him - "

"Oh," said Panther. "Oh, _Futaba_."

She embraced the girl, and let Futaba cry on her shoulder. "It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay."

"To tell you the truth, Futaba," said Mona. "Goro doesn't feel that way at all."

She sniffled. "No?"

"Goro's _always_ trying to please people," said Mona. "I know it always seems like he's in control, because he'd rather die than let people doubt him for a single moment, but he cares so much about getting people to like him, even if he nearly breaks himself for it. Whether he's working or helping Boss out in Leblanc or spending time with people, he's always running around from one place to another to do things for others. Think about it." He swallowed. "You're right, you know. Your mom's not a criminal. There's no reason we should go after her, because she's not hurting anyone. But he said yes. He said yes to your request when he knew you were Alibaba, but you didn't know it was him. Why is that?"

"I... don't know," said Futaba. "I thought the Phantom Thieves listened to every request they got."

"Futaba, if that was possible we'd _never_ leave the Metaverse," said Queen wryly. "We can only ever agree to a handful of requests. There's so much people who need help, and only so many of us to begin with."

"And yet, Goro wanted to help you," Mona said. "He even lied to protect your identity so you wouldn't get caught up in this. We only found out because the cognitive version of you surprised us."

"It's too late now, though," Skull said. "You're in it now, for better or for worse."

"So let's make it better." Panther squeezed her shoulder. "Futaba... you don't have to change your mother's heart, and we won't do it without your permission. But it doesn't have to be the end right now."

"What do you mean by that?" Futaba hiccuped.

"We can still explore," said Mona. "Look around. It's true the Palace isn't a perfect representation of your mother's mind, but nothing can be, even in the Metaverse. Maybe she loves you. Maybe she doesn't. Maybe it was Shido who made her this way, maybe she was always that way.

"But maybe, just maybe, if we go through her Palace we'll find the truth, no matter how small it is," he added. "And the truth is, Futaba, that the truth hurts. It reveals to us stuff about people we never imagined they could be like. How they really feel about us when they're not smiling at us, how they talk about us when we're not there."

"Right," said Queen. "We can't promise you salvation, Futaba. Nothing can do that. But at least it might answer a few of your questions."

"You've been wondering for a long time," said Panther. "Let's find out, right now."

"I don't know," Futaba said. "I still don't know. What if - what if - "

"Are you scared?" said Skull.

"Yeah," she whimpered. "Yeah."

"Me too," he said. "I was scared shitless in the beginning. I was alone at school, railing at Kamoshida all alone. No one believed me, even when I did my best to shout the truth from the rooftops, and tell you what, I didn't think it would _ever_ change for the better."

"Oh, Ryuji," Panther said, voice cracking. "I'm so sorry."

"And then the king of the nerds himself came out of freaking nowhere and told me he believed me," said Skull. "I had no idea why. Hell, he had more reason than me to put his head down and shut up and conform. He could have been sent back to the fucking orphanage he grew up in if he'd screwed up. Even now I have no idea why he agreed to help me. But you know what?"

"What?" croaked Futaba.

"I," said Sakamoto Ryuji, "am so glad he gave me a chance. It didn't matter anymore that no one else cared - that no one trusted me still. For once in my goddamned small life, it felt like someone was giving me an opportunity to reach into myself and tear down every part of me that was scared and weak and stupid so I could finally move on. Because I was scared, and hell, I'm still weak sometimes, and people definitely call me stupid.

"But I'm not scared anymore,” he said. "Because someone fought for me in the most terrifying moment of my life, and saved me from the smallest parts of myself. He saved me from myself, and ever since - " He stopped. “Hell, you know the rest.”

"We want to save you too, Futaba," said Queen, the iron of her mask wet with moisture.

"And with that power within yourself, Futaba, you can save your mother," said Mona. "I know you can."

"We'll be right behind you all the way," promised Panther. "So, how about it?"

Futaba said nothing, only turned her gaze to the entrance of the pyramid, where Crow and Fox and her cognitive self were.

She said, "I've made my choice."

* * *

 "I'm sorry."

Goro kept his eyes shut. He knew who it was.

"I'm sorry," the cognitive Futaba said again. "I wish I was her."

He couldn't help it. "I wish you were her too. So she'd finally see reason."

"I have been here for so long," said she. "Yet I cannot even remember if a year has passed or only a day. Tell me: was my true self only three years old when this Palace manifested inside our Mother?"

"Yes," said Goro. "I think so."

"Twelve years," said Fox. "Twelve years this Palace has been growing, stone by stone."

"It was a small place, once," said Futaba, wrapping arms around herself. "I remember being allowed in the Treasure room before, when the Palace was but four thin walls and I little myself." She closed her eyes. "I must have been little once, surely."

"You've grown," said Goro. "Alongside the Palace, and Isshiki-san's distortions."

"Yes," the girl said, and smiled sadly. "I have."

God, this was... so wretched. For all of them. "I'm sorry," Goro said. "I thought I was helping."

"You are," said Fox. "If Futaba wasn't so - "

"Maybe Kurusu was right. Maybe this isn't my burden."

"Pray, what do you mean by that?" said the other boy in a soft voice.

"Kurusu... told me not to set myself on fire to keep someone else warm," said Goro. "When he said that I was so angry I wanted to hit him. I couldn't imagine how someone who works in the law could be so selfish... so nihilistic. Now I think I get it." He shrugged. "You can't help people who don't want to be helped."

"No," said Fox. "No, Crow. He's wrong."

"Is he?" Goro grinned wearily. "You know, Kurusu has no friends. He says I'm the only one he has, and that's so perverse, because I don't even like him half the time. Yet right now I'm so fucking jealous of him." He leaned his head against the wall. "He only ever has to think about himself. What a life."

"What a life. Do you regret everything the Thieves have done to help people, then? Do you regret helping me?"

Fox - no, Yusuke now, was pale and trembling and agitated. His skin had gone white as chalk, and the tension in his posture, had Goro been a Shadow, would have sent him running.

"No, Yusuke," he whispered. "I've never regretted helping you. Not for a moment.

"But," he said. "You wanted to be helped."

"You're lying. When you came to me I was still in denial about Sensei's use of me."

"You knew deep down inside it was wrong," said Goro. "It didn't take me more than two days of work to convince you to drop him like a dirty rag."

"It wasn't - " Yusuke flushed. "It wasn't like that. You don't know how I struggled to make my choice."

"No," said Goro dully. "I don't.

"I don't know anyone's struggle but my own."

"Please don't fight," said Futaba. "This Palace has already torn my true self and I asunder. Not you two as well."

Yusuke said nothing.

Goro did neither.

Yusuke spoke again first. "Why then."

"Why what."

"Why did you choose to be a Phantom Thief? Why did you do it?"

Goro frowned. "You know, I genuinely have no idea."

"Honesty is key, Crow," said Yusuke, then shook his head. "I'm talking to Akechi Goro right now."

So he was. "Perhaps you want to know if I had some moral breaking point or not," said Goro. "If Kamoshida reminded me of some of my own teachers and social workers back home... and yes, he did. But he wasn't targeting me. I had no reason to care."

"But you did. You helped Ryuji. You took him into the Metaverse. And Ann too - "

"I don't know why I did that either."

"Goro, please. Be honest."

"I _am_ being honest, Yusuke. I don't know. I don't know why I do a lot of things, contrary to popular belief. I don't know why I allowed this Phantom Thief nonsense to continue long after it stopped affecting me personally. I don't know why I wanted to save you - why I wanted to help Makoto. I don't know why I'm still in this Palace waiting for Futaba's answer now, when I could just go home and sleep and never go into the Metaverse again. I don't know."

"You _know_ ," said Yusuke. "It's because you care."

"Well, then." Goro crossed his arms. "I don't feel like caring right now, so excuse me for being childish about it."

"You are," said Yusuke, and unbelievably, began to laugh. "You are being intolerably childish, Goro, and all because something didn't go to plan - "

"Plan, plan! It wasn't my plan, it was Futaba's," Goro seethed. "It was all her, I was just the vehicle to do it. And I would have, if she let me."

He turned away, for the cognitive was staring at him now, and he could not fault her reaction for an excess of curiosity.

"You wanted to help her," said Yusuke. "Because you care about her, Goro."

"Yes, we're all aware of that," said Goro. "As well as the fact it nearly got me slapped in the face."

"It's not something that can be helped."

"What, being attacked?"

"No. The consequences of our actions. Both as Thieves and in our personal lives. We strive for justice through the gifts bestowed upon us, but we cannot predict how the dice will fall as a result."

"We know how the drill goes," said Goro. "Change someone's heart, they feel sorry and turn themselves into the police, atone et cetera."

"Even Isshiki-san?" said Yusuke. "What would a change of heart do for her?"

"Surely it will make Mother a better person," offered Futaba. "Won't it, Akechi?"

Even Goro didn't know the answer to that.

He crossed his arms. "It's been so long that at this point this Palace is a part of her, and if we destroy it - "

"We're taking away the essence of who she is," said Yusuke. "That's Futaba's present concern, right? Ah, the other Futaba," he told the cognition.

"Even if the essence of Isshiki-san is terrible at heart?" said Goro. "Is that worth preserving for the sake of... authenticity? Organic parental neglectfulness? Are we to praise the agency of awful people for its own sake?"

"Please, Goro. Do you think that word is something to take so lightly?"

"Which one," Goro said.

"Agency." Yusuke's gloved hands closed into fists. "Would you have tried to take it from me through a forceful change of heart had I disagreed with you about Sensei?"

"You didn't have a Palace," said Goro.

"If I did. Would you have?"

Abruptly, his mouth went dry.

"I... don't know," he said.

Yusuke shivered. "For the first time, I am beginning to wonder the wisdom of our ways. Whether what we do is moral... or merely inevitable because it is in our capacity to do it."

"Don't worry," said Goro. "There are plenty of terrible people in the world who'll definitely _never_ make you regret changing their hearts." He couldn't help but smile. "At least it isn't murder, no?"

"No," said Yusuke blankly. "It is not."

God, but he was being an unbearable asshole. "I'm sorry. I'm not quite the perfect leader you thought I was."

"I've never thought you were perfect, Goro."

"Oh."

"But - " Yusuke swallowed. "I thought there was a greater purpose to you. Before."

Goro smiled despite himself. "Now you know. I'm even more imperfect than you thought." He took Yusuke's hand, and the boy let him hold it.

"You," said Goro, "have an innate justice. An inherent sense of what is right and wrong. You understand righteous behaviour, and shun unrighteous behaviour. I don't know whether it was born in you or if, improbably, Madarame happened to raise you right in this one aspect. But you are _pure_ , Yusuke, in a way I can never be."

"Don't be ridiculous." He flushed. "I'm human as you, sullied and mortal as the rest of humanity."

"I don't believe it," Goro whispered. "Do you?"

"Goro!" said Yusuke, tearing his hand away only to grab his shoulders and shake him. "Please. Do you _honestly_ believe you're so different from me at the end of the day?"

"That's what I've been saying this time," Goro said. "You save people because it's the right thing to do, and because you always try to do the right thing you worry about the implications of your every action, even the ones that saved you from Madarame." He crooked his smile. "Me? I have no idea why I do anything. I'm like a drunken bag of insects tottering here and there, wondering if _this_ thing I do is what will get people to like me without having to know me. There's a reason I've spent my whole life in an institution. People know what I am from the moment they look at me - "

"Shut up," said Yusuke.

"Shut up," said Yusuke, and took Goro's mask off.

"Shut _up_ ," said Yusuke, and embraced him.

Goro shut up. Behind Yusuke, Futaba looked at them with a blend of tenderness and envy.

How alone she must be even now, he thought, and screwed his eyes shut so he didn't have to look at her anymore.

"Shut up," said Yusuke, his words vibrating against Goro's ears, his throat, his heart. "Shut up, Goro, and stop feeling so damn sorry for yourself. When will you see how you've changed our lives for the better? Are you going to say it doesn't matter you helped Ryuji because you did it for _fun?_ Are you going to tell Ann it doesn't matter Kamoshida's heart was changed because even when you fought against him, you didn't really _care?_ Are you going to tell Makoto and all the students Kaneshiro abused that it doesn't _matter_ he's no longer in the wider world to hurt them anymore?" His whole body shook as he absorbed Goro into him. "Are you going to tell me," he whispered, "what you did for me doesn't matter either?"

Oh, what a world.

Despite it all, Goro's eyes swarmed with tears. He couldn't help it.

"No," he croaked. "No, I could never tell you that."

"So stop telling yourself that you don't matter," whispered Yusuke. "That's what you're doing every time you demean something you've done to help another. How could you, Goro? How could you tell yourself that you're worthless?"

"Yusuke," Goro said, and every sliver of his voice was in shards and pieces. "Knowing who I am, how could I not?"

And like that, even the cognition of Futaba began to cry.

There was nothing to be done for it. Goro was Goro, the boy who had been born to a mother who killed herself rather than raise him, to a father who shunned him since birth and spat on him again when he was thirteen. No one at the homes he had been passed around in or at the institution liked him, not before Ogawa-sensei, and even she had been leery of him in the beginning because Goro was an angry child, Goro was a restless child, Goro was the kind of child that grew up to be a mass murderer, and once he had committed his bloodbath and sank back into the rot of despair from where he had been conceived, no one would ever look at him and say, "He should have been given another chance."

In this world, Akechi Goro was only a good boy because he had been tricked into it by a strange hook-nosed man in a dreamlike room of endless cells, and two childlike attendants with the word OXYMORON scattered in between their regal caps.

There was no part of him that was inherently good at all.

No, not at all.

And yet.

And yet -

"You know, it's so stupid," Goro said through a mouthful of tears and laughter. "Everytime someone wants to get close to me, they have to take my mask off or I'll end up poking them in the eyes first. Why is that? Why did my subconscious even think of something so counterproductive and alienating?"

"It's because you're a stubborn fool who doesn't believe he deserves love or affection whatsoever," said Yusuke.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, Goro," said Yusuke. "Now stop fussing. Futaba is coming. The real Futaba."

"Oh!" The cognition wiped her eyes. "Hurry, hurry! We must make ourselves presentable."

"Don't worry about me," Goro said as he and Yusuke disengaged at last. "I can't be helped in that regard. I'm a hot mess at all times."

"That I have always known," said Yusuke. "My dear fool."

* * *

 "I want to go home," said Futaba.

"Alright," said Goro, who had nothing left in him to resist.

"For today," she said. "I want us to prepare, and come back tomorrow. We're not done here."

"Good," said Fox. "See, Goro? It was not for nothing."

"No, you're right," said Goro. "We should come back later." His face was patchy and red, his mask hanging off the belt on Fox's waist. It was obvious he'd been in distress, ridiculous as it might seem to another.

Futaba stepped forward.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey yourself."

"I'm sorry, Akechi. I totally freaked out on you for no reason."

"You had a reason," said Goro. "As did I."

"Are you better now?"

"Surprisingly," said Goro. "Yes. I feel better. Thank you, Fox."

"It was my pleasure."

The rest of the team milled around them tentatively, unsure of what to say. Pretty much everyone had been crying in some form or another, and they all looked hideous.

The pyramid entrance opened once more, and they all headed back down to return to the real world.

Except for one.

She stood at the top of the staircase, hands clasped over her front again. Watching, only watching, for there was no room for her in the world outside the Palace.

"Futaba," Goro said. "We'll see you again. I swear."

"Yeah, I swear too," said the real Futaba, and held out a fist. "Twinsss fist bump!"

"Oh! Yes," said cognitive Futaba. "Um, here?"

"Bump!" said Futaba. "Great, we're BFFs now."

"BFFs," repeated the cognition. "As in...?"

"As in, we're friends," said Goro. "All of us."

"You won't be alone anymore. Got it? That's a promise from yours truly."

"And from me. We'll be here tomorrow, and right on time."

"Until then, remember us," said Futaba. "Don't forget about me, _me_."

"I could never forget," promised the cognitive Futaba, and bid them farewell.

* * *

It was late when he got home that night. Boss had left a dozen missed calls on his phone, and when Goro heard a sigh as he entered the house, he wondered what the man was going to say to him now.

But then again, maybe that wasn't so important.

"Sojiro!" Futaba said, and ran forward while still in her socks. "Sojiro, I'm back and I'm never leaving!"

She threw herself at Boss, who spluttered in shock. "Futaba! Where have you been?"

"I dunno, around and moping, I guess," said Futaba. "Luckily, this _nerd_ happened to come by and drag me out of my funk, and just in the nick of time! We're totally best friends now."

"Are you?" Boss cleared his throat. "Good. I didn't want to yell at you anyway."

Goro grinned while unzipping his bag to let Morgana out. "It's been a wild day for all of us," he said. "Hasn't it, Morgana?"

"Awful, just awful," said Morgana. "I never want to cry like that again."

"Aw, Morgana, of course you do!" Futaba grabbed him up and cradled him in her arms. "You're going to sleep with me tonight, buddy!"

"I'm sorry, Futaba," said Goro. "But Morgana is mine."

"Hey! I'm not anyone's! I'm a person, damn it, and that means - "

"God, he's howling again," said Boss. "Are you two telling me you can actually understand him?"

"He's our best friend too," Futaba told him very seriously. "The three of us - we have a connection."

"Yes," said Goro, and smiled. "Yes, we do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been broken into two for readability and the sheer whiplash of all the emotions going on. Too much too soon otherwise (15k words!!).
> 
> WELP we are officially at/past the halfway part now, folks, and things are not gonna get much easier from now on. Morally-speaking the Thieves have been in the clear so far, but life isn't always going to hand them pre-made lemonade. I'm not going to pretend I'm writing some heavy-hitting quandaries here, especially when concerning a group of teenagers who mean well but are ultimately bumbling their way around this stuff, but imo this kind of stuff canon really should have gone more into. 
> 
> Plus, the first of the chains on Goro's heart breaks. Slowly but surely, he's finding himself. Fyi Yusuke is the man and I have no idea how Akira can top this later on.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy, and I will have further thoughts on the end of this arc when chapter 12 is posted.


	12. Steal the scientist's heart II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Phantom Thieves, lazy hacks, can't even do their job properly.
> 
> But maybe, for once that's okay.

**12\. Steal the scientist's heart II**

  
They sailed through the Palace like birds on the northern wind, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and their twin companions: Futaba and her cognitive half, Alibaba and Medjed.

Among the puzzles and various traps and Shadows lurking, there were image tiles they had to arrange together to be able to understand and move forward. The first depicted a young Isshiki Wakaba shaking hands with a man that could only be a young Shido, a ten-rayed sun in between them like the arrival of a new world on their shores.

"This is it," said Goro. "This must be when they agreed to work together."

"Did she know about Shido?" said Queen.

"Did she _care?"_   said Panther.

"... I'm not sure," said Futaba.

"Too soon to tell," said her cognitive self.

Goro didn't know about that. "Come," he said, when the beam aligned and knocked down a wall for them to traverse through.

The next set of tiles showed Isshiki kneeling among cardboard boxes in a windowless room.

"She's alone," said Mona.

"Abandoned by Shido," said Fox. "It must have been devastating to her psyche, to have formed this Palace as a result."

"Wait. Look," said Skull, pointing to a corner. "Is that a stuffed animal?"

"No way!" Futaba narrowed her eyes. "It was the old rabbit I used to sleep with. Why would Mom have it with her at work?"

"You don't think - " said Panther, looking hopeful.

Goro pursed his lips. "We'll find out soon enough," he said. "Let's go."

The third and last set of tiles silenced both Futabas.

It depicted the girl in her Palace garb, pulling upon her mother's clothes while Isshiki was bent over her desk, oblivious to the child behind her.

"It's okay," Panther said to them. "Maybe there's more."

Cognitive Futaba shook her head. "This is the last."

"It's what Mom really thinks of me," said Futaba.

"Or her distortion," said Goro.

"Yeah." She smiled. "Sure. Whatever you say."

At the end of it all, all the barriers had been opened to them, and the staircase that led to Isshiki Wakaba's Treasure was opened once more to them.

"How should we send the calling card?" said Queen. "Futaba, could you give it your mother at home?"

"Yeah, no. She never comes home to begin with." Futaba grimaced. "She always stays at this capsule hotel near work anyway."

"So our best bet is delivering it to her workplace," said Goro. "How?"

"No matter its shabbiness, it is still a government facility," said Fox. "We shall have to be crafty indeed."

"Orrr," said Futaba. "I could just call up ahead and tell the secretary I'm gonna deliver some bentos to my mom and her colleagues."

"Oh!" said Panther.

"Good idea, Futaba," Mona said.

"Is it that gonna be that easy?" said Skull. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! And all you guys are gonna be my lackeys," said Futaba. "Especially you, Akechi."

"Me?" said Goro dryly. "What am I meant to do?"

"Make the bentos, of course!" said Futaba. "I'll need thirty of them."

"That's not funny."

"Do I look like I'm making japes, Akechi?" She narrowed her eyes. "Thirty. Bentos. _Tomorrow_."

"No," said Goro. "I refuse. Absolutely not."

* * *

 "This is the worst plan I've ever been a part of," he said, carrying his share of the bentos in a canvas bag the day after. Everyone else was carrying bags as well, save for Futaba who walked into her mother's workplace like she belonged there and waved down the secretary.

"Oh! Hello, Futaba-chan!" the middle-aged woman said. "It's so nice of you to bring bentos for everyone today."

"Yep! Keep it a secret though," Futaba winked. "It's my mom's birthday! She hasn't celebrated in _years_ , so I wanted to make today super special for her!"

"Of course! Please, take everything to the break room on the third floor. We'll all be looking forward to it."

"Actually," said Goro. "Can you tell us where Isshiki-san's office is located? We'd like to deliver something to her personally."

"Did you bring her a present too? How lovely of you and your friends, Futaba-chan! I wish my daughter were so considerate."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "Yep. That's me. Haha."

"Alright, it's room 307."

"Oh my God," Futaba said a moment later as they all crowded in the elevator. "That was ridiculously easy."

"I thought there would be _way_ more security," said Ann.

"Let's not count our blessings yet," said Makoto. "Alright, let's drop these off first. Futaba, is the calling card ready?"

"Yeah," Futaba said, after a moment. "Yeah."

She'd decided to change her mother's heart after all, and Goro could not blame her.

* * *

Isshiki Wakaba's door looked as it had in her Palace.

Goro knocked, and then tried the handle.

It was locked.

"Hmm," said Yusuke. "This might prove difficult."

"Not in the least," Goro said, taking out a lockpick from his pocket.

"Nice going!" said Morgana from his vaunted perch in Ann's bag. "Glad you're finally making use of them in the real world too."

"Akechi," said Futaba. "You are straight up breaking into my mother's office. You are the _best_."

Goro grinned as he worked. "Welcome to the life of a thief."

The door clicked open. Ryuji whistled, and they all crowded inside the small room.

"Well," said Ann, looking around. "This is an office."

"Mom's not here. I - what should we do now?"

"No, it's perfect. We can set up now and leave," Goro said.

"Oh." She swallowed. "Yeah, I didn't actually make one."

His mouth dropped. "What."

"I was kind of hoping to tell her in person," said Futaba. "With you guys?"

"Futaba-chan," said Makoto. "That means your mother will find out we're the Phantom Thieves."

"Oh." The bulb went off. "Oh shit, I didn't think about that."

Again, the worst plan Goro had ever been a part of. And that included the Futaba retrieval plan from a week ago.

"Well, what the hell do we do now!" said Ryuji. "If we get caught now it doesn't matter what Medjed does to us!"

"Ehehehe..." Futaba laced her hands together nervously. "Ann, do you have the cake?"

"Yep!" Ann held up the plastic bag with a large white box she had been holding.

"Is it actually her birthday?" said Yusuke, looking interested.

" _No_ ," said Futaba. "No, I lied to get in. Come on, keep up."

"You want to give your mother cake," Goro said. "And then tell her you're going to steal her heart."

"Yeah you're right. It's foolproof."

" _What_ is, Futaba?"

The voice came from none of them in the room, but Isshiki Wakaba standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. She looked like she hadn't gotten sleep in weeks, and she was staring at them with pursed lips and a tight expression.

Ann dropped the cake.

"Oh," said Futaba. "Hi, Mom... what are you doing here?"

"In my own office?" Isshiki-san walked into the room with a scowl. "The greater question is what _you're_ doing here, Futaba. Akechi too," she said with a frown. "Did Sojiro put you up to this?"

"He has nothing to do with this," said Futaba. "We're here for you, Mom."

"Me," said Isshiki-san flatly. "What do you want? Tell me, and then go home. All of you."

"We're the - uh, the Phantom - " Futaba faltered. There was a reason they used written calling cards, Goro thought. Alas.

"Isshiki-san," he said. "We're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and we've come to change your heart."

"We know everything," said Ann. "About your research into the cognitive world."

"How you've been neglecting Futaba-chan for years," said Makoto.

"Yeah. We even know about that scumbag Shido - "

"Shido?" Isshiki-san hissed. "Futaba! You hacked into my computer, didn't you? I knew there was a reason you've been so quiet the past month - "

"Mom!" said Futaba. "I haven't even _been_ home the past month! I lived with Sojiro and Akechi for like two weeks! How do you not know that about me?" Tears welled in her eyes. "See, this is why we have to do it. I don't want to live like this anymore."

Isshiki-san watched her daughter fight the urge to weep, and said nothing.

Then she looked at Goro. "Akechi. I honestly thought you were better than this. You should have stopped her."

"I'm sorry, Isshiki-san," Goro said. "I'm the last person you should be saying that to."

She snorted. "The Phantom Thieves. Really? Is that the kind of person Sojiro took in?"

"Hey! We save people."

"All our work has been in the name of justice," said Yusuke. "Perhaps you'd understand if you could see."

"Mrr!" said Morgana angrily. "Mrr! Mrr!"

"... you brought a cat into my office," Isshiki said. "Enough. Get out, all of you."

"Mom - "

"Including you, Futaba. Never come to my office again. I'm embarrassed to be associated with you."

Well, that did it.

"Fine," said Futaba. "Fine. I don't care anymore. Let's get out of here."

"Futaba-chan - "

"It's not worth it," she said, and walked out.

"Futaba!" Ann hurried after her, followed by the rest.

Only Goro was left.

"Tell me," Isshiki-san said. "What was the purpose of this stunt? What did you and Futaba think you'd achieve together?"

"Nothing," Goro said. "We just thought we might be able to offer you a change in perspective."

"... I'm sure you thought you did," she said. "Goodbye, Akechi."

"Yes, ma'am."

And he walked away for the second time.

* * *

"Eh, what the hell," Ryuji grumbled. "Why's the elevator locked all of a sudden?"

"Let's just take the stairs," Ann said, resigned.

They went back through the hallway. Isshiki-san's door was still open, and she sounded like she was arguing with someone.

"She's always like this," Futaba muttered, not looking through. "Even at home."

"Mm," Goro agreed.

But he slowed his walk nonetheless, and listened in.

" - and what right do you think you have to take me into custody? I want to see some ID first."

"ID's useless where we're going, lady. Come on. Don't make a fuss or we're going to have to make things difficult - "

"Akechi, pick up the pace," Futaba said. "We're leaving - "

Goro put a finger to his lips, and shook his head.

" - I'm not going anywhere with a pair of yakuza thugs. Tell me who your employer is. It was Shido, wasn't it?"

"Oh fuck," Ryuji whispered. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh - "

"Mom?" said Futaba in a small voice, and then there was a scream.

They all scrambled back down the hallway and found Isshiki-san struggling with two men trying to manhandle her.

"Hey! Get off my mom, you assholes!" Futaba screamed, and threw herself forward.

Well, that was a mistake.

One of the men backhanded Futaba and sent herself sprawling. "And who the fuck are these brats supposed to be?" 

"How dare you touch Futaba!" Isshiki-san hissed, and broke herself free and ran to her daughter's side. "Futaba! Are you alright - "

"Mom!" Futaba's cheek was bright red. "I thought they were going to kill you."

"Ladies," said Goro. "I believe it's time to go."

"Yep. Yep. We're going!" Ann and Ryuji grabbed the Isshikis and pulled them up. "See y'all suckers later!"

" _Disgusting_ ," Yusuke said, and slammed the door shut behind the thugs.

They took off after the staircase at once, the men in hot pursuit.

"Oh my God, they're coming! What do we do!"

"Up, up!"

"Ryuji, what the hell! The exit is downstairs!"

"It's fine, we'll confuse them!"

"It is _so_ not fine!"

"Why are you guys fighting now?! We could all die here!"

"We're not dying." Goro wrenched the sixth floor staircase door open. "Not here."

"Here, here!" Makoto found an unlocked room and shut it behind them when they were all in. "Blockade it," she ordered. "Chairs, desks, now!"

"Got it!"

The door and only exit was soon jammed to the point of impenetrability, yet when it shook from the force of the men trying to break in, they all had their hearts in their throats.

"This is it," Futaba said. "We're going to die now. I'm so sorry, Mom."

"Stop it," said Isshiki-san. "This has Shido's stench all over it. You had nothing to do with it."

"Really?"

Happy as Goro was to see the Isshikis finally getting along, there was the problem of escaping with their limbs intact. They were on the sixth floor, meaning they'd all fall to their deaths if they jumped. There was one door, which was in the process of being lovingly battered. There was no other way out.

They were well and truly fucked.

"It's been nice knowing you all," said Morgana sadly. "I didn't think we'd go out like this."

"I'll think of something," Goro said. "Just hold on."

"Yes, we mustn't give up hope," said Yusuke, sheet-white. "Surely, if we put all our minds together - "

"I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die - "

"Lady Ann, I need to tell you something."

"I'm sorry, Morgana!" Ann said. "I - I have feelings for Shiho, and you're a cat. It would just never work!"

"For the love of God," barked out Isshiki-san. "Why do you keep talking to that cat as if you can understand it!"

"We _can_ understand him, Mom," Futaba mumbled. "Morgana's not an ordinary cat. He's from the Meta... verse..."

Somewhere in the soundless void outside the Velvet Room, a pin dropped.

"Holy shit," said Ryuji. "That's how we're getting out."

"No!" said Makoto. "You realize what this means, don't you? The Treasure will only manifest once. If we don't take it today - "

"It'll be gone forever," said Yusuke. "We have to take that risk if it means saving our own lives."

"No," said Goro. "We won't." He pulled out his phone. "We'll do both at the same time."

"You're not serious!" said Ann. "Senpai, how do we know if the Treasure's even manifested yet?"

"We don't. But we don't have much of an option, do we?"

"He's right," said Ryuji. "We have to do this."

"Morgana, say something!"

"I - I don't know! I've never tried to take a Treasure right after sending the calling card before! Who knows what could happen?"

"Guys, the door is giving way - "

"Do it," said Futaba.

"What are you all talking about?" Isshiki-san looked flabbergasted. "Treasures? Metaverse? Please don't tell me you're serious!"

"Isshiki-san," Goro said, finger hovering over the Nav App. "Haven't you ever wanted to taste the fruits of your labour?"

"And what could you mean by _that?"_

"The cognitive world," said Futaba. "And the Metaverse is the one and the same."

"Exactly," said Goro, and pressed the button.

By the time the men broke through, it was if they had been chasing ghosts. There was no one else in sight.

* * *

 To say that Isshiki Wakaba was flummoxed was... accurate.

"Palaces," she repeated after they explained it all to her in the last and final safe room of her Palace. "Treasures. Metaverse. Cognitive selves. Shadows. _Change of hearts._ "

"Yes," said Goro. "I hope you understand."

She closed her eyes. "I think I'm starting to. This is all... so much, and all at once."

"It's okay, Mom," said Futaba. "It was hard for me the first time too."

"The first time. To think the Phantom Thieves are mere children..."

"I turned eighteen in June," Goro said.

" _We're_ all sixteen."

"And you know how old I am," Futaba said. "Right?"

"Yes, that is exactly what children would say." Isshiki-san pressed her hands to her brow. "My God. So we're not even in the real world anymore?"

"We've been teleported," Mona said. "Sort of."

Isshiki-san flinched every time he spoke. Mona in bobble-headed form was frightening enough, but the fact that her daughter's friends were now in these absurd getups and talking about Personas... she looked like her head was going to explode, and Goro did not blame her.

"Not to mention," the woman said haggardly. "That... creature out there."

Cognitive Futaba could not enter safe rooms, though she had been delighted to see them, and overwhelmed to see Isshiki-san in person. Even now she hovered outside, waiting with the utmost eagerness for the Pharaoh's change of heart.

"Seriously, Mom? She's a part of me. Or at least the part of me that's part of you."

"I... am aware, Futaba," Isshiki-san said. "But it's hard to see two of you like this. Especially knowing that the other one is my responsibility - "

"Hey," said Futaba. "So am I."

"I'm sorry, Isshiki-san," Goro said. "But we've come to take your heart, and we need to do it soon."

"Of course." She sat up straight in her seat. "Tell me. What will happen to me after?"

"You'll become a better person," said Panther. "I think."

"You... think." Her doubt was clear. "I'm not a good person now?"

None of them said anything.

"I see," Isshiki-san said. "I wonder what you've told them about me, Futaba."

In response, Futaba just curled into herself in her chair and looked down.

"Hey," said Queen. "Don't be mad at her. She really cares about you."

"She's been trying to get your attention for a long time," said Skull. "And no offense, but it's kind of messed up how your work is more important than her - "

"My work is why I've been able to give Futaba a good life," said Isshiki-san coldly. "So please, stop speculating on my motivations when you know nothing about them."

"Yes," said Fox. "I understand completely."

Isshiki-san smiled at him. "At least one of you sees sense."

"But," he stressed. "I also believe you lack perspective. In every aspect of one's life there needs to be balance, or one threatens to topple over into catastrophe. The mind becomes distorted and loses sight of the ultimate goal. What is your ultimate goal, Isshiki-san?"

"My goal," she said, "is to discover as much about the cognitive world as much as I can, and release my research to inform the public.

"And," she added, "to take care of my daughter."

"Thanks, Mom," said Futaba, but she wasn't smiling.

"Well, let's do it." Isshiki-san got up. "Let me see this monster you've been saying I've been all along. Change my heart, and show me."

As they left the safe room to venture up to the Treasure, cognitive Futaba floating around her twin and Isshiki-san with a look of pure joy on her face while the latter studiously ignored her, a sinking feeling emerged from the pit of Goro's mind.

Had they explained what the changes of heart did properly to Isshiki-san? She was taking this far too lightly. By the end of the day she would be a different person altogether.

Surely the thugs had left by now. _Surely_ , if they went back to the real world, they could just go home and try again tomorrow...

No. They were here, and they had to do this now.

As the door to the Treasure opened to them in silence, and the Thieves and company poured in, Goro asked the darkest depths of his thoughts: _Am I doing the right thing here?_

And Robin Hood answered: _No. But least you are finally asking the right questions._

* * *

Mona's fear had been for nothing. The Treasure had manifested, and the Palace ruler was here.

The Pharaoh and Isshiki Wakaba stared at each other from the bleak desert podium that was the home of her Treasure and the last fight the Thieves would fight in this Palace.

"This thing," said Isshiki-san. "Is supposed to be me?"

The Pharaoh said, "So even you have fallen for the propaganda of mere children."

"Fallen? Hardly," said Isshiki-san. "I merely wish to see where all of this leads in the end."

The Pharaoh shook her head. "It ends in obliteration. Of this world, and you and I, and everything we have ever worked to achieve together."

"The Palace will collapse when we take your Treasure," said Futaba. "And..."

"I become a different person," said Isshiki-san, her face still. "I understand."

Did she?

"Skull and Panther, you're on protection duty," Goro said. "Mona, Fox, Queen, with me."

"Roger that, Crow."

"On it!"

"Let us proceed."

"Let's go!"

"Let's end this."

"Come on, Mom." Futaba took Isshiki-san's hand. "It's going to get ugly now. Let's stand back and watch."

"I'm sure you've been curious," drawled Goro. "About how the Phantom Thieves really change people's hearts. Well, let us show you!"

* * *

The Pharaoh became the Sphinx, and warred, and fell.

* * *

No, no, no. No, it was never that easy.

"Damn it!" said Futaba said. "She keeps dive bombing them, and they don't know when she's coming next - "

Panther had already been tagged in, and now a fatigued Queen watched from the sidelines with the Isshikis and the cognitive Futaba. "It's no good. We just don't have the ability to predict her movements."

"I want to fight," snarled Skull. "Even Crow's getting battered out there!"

"Then you'll be in the same position he is!" Queen snapped. "Firepower doesn't _mean_ anything right now, Skull!"

_It's terrible, isn't it?_

Futaba sucked in her breath. Who just said that?

_How your friends suffer to fight for you, and you do not offer even alms. How can you lift your head with pride, small child?_

"I'm not a child," she gritted out.

"Futaba," said her mother. "Is something wrong?"

_Even your mother, who has given her whole life to shelter you - what have you done to repay her?_

"Stop it," Futaba said. "Stop it. I'm not a burden. I'm not _like_ that."

_So how shall you prove it? How shall you show the world how worthy you are?_

"I'm going to..." She bent over and clutched her head.

"Futaba! Oh my God, what's the matter?"

"I think she's going through an Awakening! Futaba-chan, fight through it!"

"You can do it, Futaba! Just hold on!"

"Futaba, please, tell me what's wrong - "

 _Embrace that fear that has made you weak and let it make you whole,_ whispered the green-dark tendrils in Futaba's mind, in her soul. _Be afraid no longer, for you are no longer alone._

Isshiki Futaba screamed, and from her terror Oracle woke.

* * *

"Come on, Necronomicon, _show me what you're working with!"_

* * *

 The Pharaoh fell, and so did Isshiki Wakaba.

"Mom!" said Oracle, shaking her prone form. "Akechi, what's wrong with her?"

Goro frowned. "We just defeated her Shadow, and she's been here in the Metaverse with us. It's possible that's what affected her - "

"She's not going to die, is she?" Even through her opaque goggles he imagined the lenses misting.

"No. Not if we take her Treasure and leave the Palace right after."

"About that," said Fox. "I beg your pardon, Crow, but I must intercede."

Isshiki-san groaned and opened her eyes. " _Mom_ ," Oracle said. "Hey, hey. Are you okay? Look at me."

"Futaba?" she squinted. "Is that you? Why..." She grabbed her head. "It feels like my whole body's about to split apart."

"The Palace is in flux," the cognitive Futaba mumbled. "You must decide what to do with her, and soon."

She turned her gaze to the Pharaoh, who knelt in silence beneath the Treasure, as if a prisoner to her execution.

"Goro," Fox said. "Please. Listen to me."

"I'm listening," said Goro.

"I - " Fox swallowed. "In all good conscience, I do not believe we can take Isshiki-san's heart."

"What?" said Skull. "That's what we've _been_ doing, man."

"Yusuke, what do you mean?" said Queen warily.

"Isshiki-san is not like our other targets." Fox lowered his gaze. "It is true her mind has been distorted, but she is not incapable of reasoning or understanding. Rather than take her heart, I believe we could - "

"Give her a second chance," Goro said.

"Yes."

"You realize this means we can never do this again," Mona said. "Defeating a Palace ruler is a one-time deal. Her Treasure won't manifest again."

"We don't know that," Panther said. "We thought we had to wait a day after the calling card to fight too, after all."

"That I'm not so sure about," Goro said. "It could be exclusive to Isshiki-san's Palace, since it's existed for so long."

"How long?" gasped Isshiki-san, Oracle holding her up. "How long has this Palace lived inside me?"

"Twelve years," said the cognitive Futaba.

"My God." The woman closed her eyes. "Nearly as long as you've been alive, Futaba. I'm so sorry."

"I forgive you, Mom," Oracle whispered. "I don't care anymore, I just want you to get better..."

Beneath them, the podium rumbled. "Okay, well, whatever we do we need to choose, _fast_ ," Panther said. "I don't think the Palace can handle both its Shadow and its real self in the same place for too long."

Goro closed his eyes. "Isshiki-san," he said. "If we take your Treasure and change your heart, we can't predict what'll happen next. For Futaba's sake you might choose to give up attempting revenge on Shido. You might also decide not to further your research in the cognitive world any longer. All we Thieves can do is remove the distortion within your heart. We can't promise you a happy ending."

"No," said Oracle. "No, I want Mom to get better, but I don't want her to give up everything else in her life because of me."

"Like I said," said Goro. "We don't know. All we do know is that she'll never be the same again."

"So what do we do, then?" Skull said. "Are we gonna go back and act like this never happened?"

"No. What we do is let Isshiki-san decide what to do next."

"What if she decides not to change at all?" said Panther. "What'll happen to Futaba then?"

"We have to take that risk," said Fox.

"But Yusuke! What if - "

"We'll help too," said Queen. "Futaba's one of us now."

"And the Phantom Thieves stick together," said Mona.

"... fine," grumbled Skull. "I'll stay out of this."

"I'm... not sure what to do either," Panther said. "Queen?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But if Isshiki-san is willing, and Futaba doesn't want the change anymore, it doesn't seem right to take her Treasure."

"You all know my opinion," said Fox.

"Mona?" said Goro.

"This could be dangerous," said the cat. "But... if everyone's in agreement, then - "

"Mom," said Oracle. "What do you think?"

"I don't know." Isshiki-san stumbled as she got up. "But... you all seem to know better what'll happen to me than I do."

"Please, Mom," said Oracle. "Give me a chance. I know it's been hard on you. I know I've been hard on you."

"No, Futaba, you haven't - "

"I just want us to be a family again. Even if it's messy and ugly sometimes because we bicker, and you're working when I want to be with you and I don't listen to you - " Oracle took her goggles off and let the tears come. "But damn it, if I force you to be a good person against your will, then will it even mean anything in the end? I want you to say _I love you_ and cheesy stuff like that, and I really, _really_ want you to mean it when you do! It just... doesn't seem fair otherwise."

"No," said Goro. "It's not.

"Isshiki-san," he said. "The Phantom Thieves will not be changing your heart today." He smiled. "I'm afraid that from now on on, you will have to do so yourself."

"I understand," said Isshiki Wakaba. "And I accept the responsibility completely, and utterly."

"Thanks, Mom," said Futaba, and hugged her.

Then there were only two other people left to talk to.

* * *

 She said, "That poor girl. Do you know how much she loves you?"

"I know," whispered the Pharaoh. "I've always known."

Wakaba laughed. "When did we lose sight of what mattered most in our lives?"

"The research still matters. We can't live for our daughters alone."

"No," said Wakaba. "But in this new world, we can live _with_ them, can't we?"

They turned their gazes to the Thieves and twin Futabas, huddling together for one last goodbye before bidding the Palace farewell.

"They're just children," Wakaba said. "And yet, today they saved not only my life but Futaba's."

"Children doing the works of adults," said the Pharaoh. "What do you think happened in their lives to make them like this?"

"I doubt we'll never know. And yet - " Wakaba smiled. "Looking at them gives me hope. The new generation is something else, aren't they?"

"As long as we weak adults don't abdicate our responsibilities entirely onto them," said the Pharaoh. "Will you?"

"No," Wakaba said. "I won't."

* * *

"I wonder what will happen to the Palace now," the cognitive Futaba said. "And me."

"If the distortion in Isshiki-san's heart goes away," said Mona. "Then so might you. I'm sorry, Futaba."

"What?" said Panther. "But that's so unfair. You deserve to live too."

"Only my Mother's Shadow is true," said the cognition. "Everything else in this Palace is not. Including me. I am..."

_A figment of a figment of the imagination._

"You're a friend," Goro said. "To all of us."

"Yeah," said Skull. "You are."

"We'll miss you, Futaba," Queen said.

"Things will get better from now on," said Panther. "We promise."

"You've been _superb_ company," said Fox.

"Thank you for everything," said Mona.

Oracle stepped forward. "You know," she said. "For all about the Palace being a horrible distorted version of how my mom really feels about everything... for all that," she repeated with a smile. "You're a really nice kid, you know that?"

"That's true," said Panther. "You've been super helpful to us, Futaba!"

"The real Futaba's way nastier," said Skull. "Hey!"

"Buzz off, Skull, I am not!"

"She's loved you all this time," said Mona. "Even if it wasn't clear to her at first... some part of her always knew."

"Yes," said the cognitive Futaba, sniffling. "Yes, I think you're right."

"Futaba," said Goro. "We'll remember you."

* * *

 Mother and daughter embraced, and the Phantom Thieves of Hearts left the Palace behind them.

* * *

 "Look," said Panther. "Is it me or did the Palace just get smaller?"

* * *

 When they returned to the real world, they were back in the room they'd hid in, and the men were gone.

Isshiki-san's office had been trashed. "They broke everything," she said in a dull voice as she looked around. "My backups are gone. My computer. My work - "

"Mom," said Futaba. "It's okay."

"I'm afraid it's not, Futaba." Isshiki-san took her glasses off, blinking furiously to keep the tears away. "It's all gone now. Even the files I had against Shido. I suppose all that debate about changing my heart was pointless."

"No," said Goro. "It wasn't."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "Mom, it's going to be _fine_. I told you."

"You two want to tell us something?" said Ryuji. "Because the look you get when you're scheming something together is creepy as hell."

"They're _bonding_ ," said Ann.

"No, they're right," said Makoto. "Isshiki-san, Alibaba should still have all your files."

"Alibaba? What in the world is that?"

"Oh, you know," said Futaba. "Just my hacker name and all." She pushed her glasses up and grinned. "Aren't you glad _now_ that I'm a snoop, Mom?"

"Don't forget about Medjed," said Morgana. "We still have that problem."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll take care of it later - "

Isshiki-san jolted. "The cat can talk? Here too?"

"Of course I can talk! What kind of response is that!"

"Isshiki-san can understand you now," said Goro. "Interesting."

" _You_ still owe me sushi from last week, Goro! It's Jiro or bust!"

"Oooh," said Ann. "I'd love sushi."

"Hell yeah, me too!"

"We should go out and celebrate."

"A feast would be proper."

"Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!"

"Have you all forgotten. I made _bentos_."

"Oh yeah," said Futaba. "There should still be some left in the breakroom, right?"

Then:

"Sushi! Sushi! Sushi!"

* * *

They all went out for sushi.

* * *

 The oldest of them was eighteen, and at present he was slumped to the side in his seat asleep with the cat on his lap as the train rattled on its way to Yongen, Futaba snoring against him with drool on her bottom lip.

So young. But Wakaba had been young too, once.

The others had taken off at their respective stations and told her to have a good night. Only hours ago they had been dressed in fantastical costumes with spirits looming over their backs, fighting the great flying beast that had worn Wakaba's face and tormented Futaba for over a decade.

She still didn't know what to make of it all yet. If she had just had an extraordinary hallucination, or if any of it had been real.

Well. If she could understand Morgana from now on, then that probably said it on its own, didn't it?

Futaba's glasses were slipping down her face. Wakaba pushed them back up, then shook them gently awake. "We're here," she said. "Come on, you two."

"Mmfwha?" Futaba said, while beside her the boy Akechi rubbed at his face as if it was a worn out rag. "Are we home, mom?"

"Yes," said Wakaba. "We are."

 _Yongen never changes_ , she thought in fondness as they left the station. Here was the grocery store, there was the bathhouse, here was Leblanc and there was her heart.

Ah. A movie theatre was opening up soon. Interesting.

They shuffled inside the house and took their shoes off without looking. Once again Futaba walked onto the floor without slippers.

"Futaba," said Wakaba without thinking. "Would you please put on some - "

And stopped.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"Slippers," said Akechi. "She wants you to put on your slippers." God, but he looked _exhausted_ , holding a passed-out Morgana in his arms.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"... it's alright," said Wakaba. "Somehow, I don't think Sojiro minds."

"You think?" said Futaba.

"Yes. Don't worry about it."

"Okay, then," said Futaba with a smile, and belly flopped onto the couch. "Sojiroooo! We're here!"

"I'm coming!" they heard from upstairs. "Futaba, you don't have to be so loud all the time - Wakaba! _You're_ here?" Sojiro said incredulously. "I haven't been able to get in touch with you for a month! Where have you been!"

"You'd never believe me even if I told you, Sojiro," Wakaba said, and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I think I'm gonna take a nap for a couple of days before the next chapter lol. This arc took a lot out of me, mostly cuz I actually had to think for a bit. But hey, it's over now, and you know what that means? BEACH SCENE BABY!!
> 
> Yusuke Kitagawa is the moral center of the Phantom Thieves, yo. He knows what's up.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this particular arc and the question of what to do with someone who has a distorted heart but is still, you know, a decent human being at the end of it all. This theme about second chances is going to come up again eventually (it is the fic's title lol). Soon enough the question is going to become more loaded and difficult to parse through for the Thieves, but they'll do their best, won't they?
> 
> Plus, we might actually meet Ohya in the next arc. More Haru too y'all, and possibly Akira being a sweetie for once instead of a weirdo. HAWAII!!! Goro being more real and honest with himself? Morgana NOT getting upset and running away bc I totally forgot to add that in the fic? Doubling up on Confidants at the same time? Again, who the hell is Shinya?? AUTHOR OUT, Y'ALL!!!


	13. Prove your justice to society III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro takes a breather, and so do we.

**13\. Prove your justice to society III**

"What an  _interesting_  choice you have made in this game, trickster."

Goro's smile was equally smug. "Is rehabilitation a game now?"

"Watch your words, inmate!"

"Do not dismiss the tools we have laid out before you so readily," said Justine, "if you wish to keep your own rehabilitation on the path to success."

"Isn't that so, girls?" said Igor, his wide gap of a smile disturbing as ever.

"You have your ways," said Goro. "I have mine."

"May your judgment prove you well in your journey, then," intoned the hook-nosed man, and once more Goro fell into the recesses of deep sleep, and was no more.

* * *

"Ready? Set.  _Go!"_

Ann blew her whistle, and the three of them took off. Even with a former leg injury Ryuji shot off like a bullet, and with her own background in fitness Makoto pursued him with all the ferocity and competitiveness of someone who hadn't been in second place to anyone since she was seven.

Meanwhile, until half a year ago it had been a luxury for Goro to nibble on snacks and have free time to do anything for himself; he had been too busy studying, working, helping Ogawa-sensei with the younger children at the institution.

Since then he had become Crow, and an increased cash flow from part-time jobs and selling loot from Palaces and Mementos led to a food allowance the old Goro would have considered  _kingly_ , allowing him to improve his physical health considerably. He no longer struggled to keep up.

Unfortunately, he was still in last place.

"That was pretty good," Ryuji told him, when it was over and they were taking a water break. "You might even catch up to me one day."

"When is that?" gritted out Goro, trying to keep his breath until control and failing. "To me it seems you've only gotten quicker and I keep standing still."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Makoto wiped her sweating brow with a quick dry towel. "Both of us have been training since we were children. That you've improved so much in such a short time is admirable enough on its own."

"Yeah! And unlike someone, you're actually running."

"Hey!" said Ann. "Keeping time is hard work."

"I'm sure it is, Ann," Ryuji muttered. "I'm sure it is."

* * *

"What are you doing for summer vacation, Akechi-kun?"

It was a sunny afternoon, and once again Goro was on the school rooftop weeding Okumura's garden for her while she prepared the stakes and seeds for another small harvest. For this she repaid him with half her produce of tomatoes and carrots and beans, a generous bounty considering Goro did maybe half an hour of real work, then sat around with her and had tea out of a thermos and conbini sandwiches.

But like most of the people he found himself spending time with, she seemed lonely in her own way. She sat in the last row in their classroom, always went off to eat by herself at lunch, and had such a thimbleful of a voice that, when called upon by the teacher her answers could hardly be heard above the scratching of graphite and squeaking erasers of everyone else in the room.

"I suppose I'll be spending more time with friends," said Goro, after a thought's pause. "We promised to go to the beach together soon."

"Really? That sounds wonderful!"

He smiled. "Yes. It's a celebration party for one of our friends. Congratulating her for doing a good job lately."

As in, welcoming Futaba to the Phantom Thieves properly. Goro hadn't seen her in a few days, not that it worried him. She'd promised to get the dirt on the wannabe Medjed for them. Quoth the girl herself: "I am gonna drag those fuckers' names in the mud and see how  _they_  like it!"

"I wish I could be there," Okumura blurted out, then widened her eyes at the confession. "I mean - not that I'm envious of your friend. Oh, or perhaps I am."

She looked so deflated and put-upon it made Goro chuckle. "I don't think anyone would mind if you did come, Okumura-san," he pointed out. True, it was a Thief party, but they'd be in public anyway, and thus shouldn't be blabbing about business while building sandcastles and poking sticks at crabs.

"I couldn't." She darted her gaze down at her seedlings, her gloved hands caked with fine dirt. "I'm afraid my vacation has been booked fully already."

"Going somewhere exotic, then?" Goro teased. "Switzerland? Paris? Berlin?"

"Oh please, Akechi-kun!" Ever since he'd found out Okumura was the only child and heir of the CEO of Okumura Foods himself, and therefore doing very well for herself, it never failed to make Goro question why she went to a school as recently scandal-ridden as Shujin and spent all her time digging up roots on her lonesome.

"That's not very funny," Okumura added, a harassed twinge of colour on her face. "But you're closer than you think. Have you ever heard of bridal training?"

Goro shook his head.

"I mentioned my fiance before," she admitted. "Father has planned us to get married sometime next year, and they’re eager to see me fit into my new role as quickly as possible. I’m being sent to a finishing school for the month to prepare for my new life."

"A finishing school," Goro said. "For brides."

"Yes." 

"It..." How to say this. "Seems archaic, no? Forgive me, Okumura-san, but we are in the 21st century. Arranged matches are so..."

"It is my father's desire," said she. "How could I say no?"

How indeed. "Why wouldn't he train you to take over his company after him instead?" Goro said. "I'm sorry if that's presumptuous to say, but why would a son-in-law be better than his own daughter and heir?"

Okumura sucked in her lower lip. "My fiance is older than I," she said. "Smarter too, and wiser - "

"You have the fifth-highest grade in our year. I'm not sure intelligence is an issue."

"I'm not sure the board of directors would be impressed if I told them that, Akechi-kun," said Okumura. "Besides, my father and fiance get along better than I do. Not that we don't get along! It's just..."

She gave Goro an intense look and said suddenly, "You're lucky."

"How?"

"Because you're a man. No one will ever marry  _you_  off - "

She cut herself off, and busied herself with her seeds again with plumes of red blush as bright as feathers on both sides of her cheeks.

"... I'm sure I will never be invited to an omiai or matchmaking party of any sort," Goro said eventually. "But it's probably due to other factors. Such a lack of dowry, or any parental lineage to speak of."

"Of course," she said. "I beg your pardon."

"No need," he said, and smiled. "Nevertheless, you're right. The world is cruel to women."

"I am a daughter of Okumura though," said she. "My life is more fortunate than anyone else I know. I can never forget that."

"So you should be grateful for what you have," Goro said. "Right?"

"Right," Okumura said, but her voice had gone limp.

Afterward, the tomatoes tasted sour. Too acidic.

* * *

"I'm going to take a leave of absence from work for a few months," said Isshiki Wakaba that evening in Leblanc.

"That seems wise," Goro agreed from across the counter. "Considering Shido's thugs tried to ruin your life's work and kidnap you."

She sipped her Blue Mountain coffee with a pinched expression. Hopefully not from the taste. "They never said a thing to me about being from Shido. That's the problem. If only I had more decisive  _proof_."

"What about your files on him?"

"Goodness. Did Futaba tell you everything?"

"I needed to know as much as I could before the Thieves went into your Palace." It was half an hour before closing and no one else was in the cafe, ergo the candor. Futaba was off solving the Medjed problem, and Morgana probably lying on a bed of cat treats near her, the traitor.

"I'm aware of that." She studied him, and Goro pretended obliviousness as he rinsed some dishes in the sink. "Are you enjoying reading up on my life's work, then?" A deal was a deal, after all, and with her mother's permission Futaba had sent him files and files upon worth of research papers and speculation.

"I'm... parsing through it," Goro said. "To the best of my ability."

"Don't be afraid to admit if you're lost," said Isshiki-san. "I still can't wrap my head entirely around you Thieves, nor why you have access to the Metaverse at all."

"A strange man in a dream gave me the gift," said Goro, and when she looked only puzzled at that, decided she didn't know about the Velvet Room at all. None of the documents he had gotten through suggested any previous first-hand experience on Isshiki-san's part. It seemed her work was theoretical alone, and for that he supposed they were all better for it.

(The Pharaoh hadn't mentioned the presence of another Metaverse user either. Goro wondered if he would meet this mysterious Warden someday; whether he'd be ready for a fight when they did.)

"Well. Regarding my files," said Isshiki-san. "If you've seen through them, though you know I have mostly only anecdotes from people who don't want to divulge their identities, or obscure newspaper clippings that no one seems interested in following up, transaction receipts that don't have Shido's name on them - nothing that could damn him. He covers his finger prints, I'll give him that."

Goro's hands stilled on the plate he was holding. "Forgive me," he said, setting it down carefully, "but can I ask how you first came to know each other?"

"Fair enough." Isshiki-san took her glasses off, rubbed at the corner of her eyes without messing up her eyeliner. "I was in the middle of my PhD at Waseda when he approached me. Where he heard about me then I don't know, since my research on the cognitive world was hardly more than a published paper or two. But he offered me a job, and funding, and faced with the prospect of struggling for tenure in some dead-end academic job, going back home to Hokkaido to run the family inn, or a government facility with my own team and everything I could dream of, nothing but the last choice ever occurred to me." She added, wryly: "I found out I was having Futaba soon after, and had no intention of relying on her father after she was born. So there was that to worry about too."

"I... see," Goro said.

"Does that not satisfy your curiosity?"

"No, it's fine." He swallowed. "I just... how did Shido come across to you then? Did he seem trustworthy? Or..."

"I'm afraid I was too excited at the thought of a politician  _encouraging_ experimental research and scientific advances to ever truly consider his motive," said Isshiki-san. "Was he a schemer then? I can't say. Perhaps. I was... blinded, in my own way. I wanted so badly to succeed." She looked down at her empty cup. "I suppose that's why I stayed, even when the funding was cut. Even with my team reduced to only me, and having to work in that miserable windowless box of an office - I thought it was the only chance I would ever get to fulfill my dreams. So I sat put, and broke Futaba's heart as a result."

"You didn't," said Goro quickly. "She's happy just to have you around."

"I know," said Isshiki-san. "But she didn't choose me as a mother. I chose her as a daughter, and it seems I haven't fulfilled my end of the bargain for a long time ago. At least she has you and Sojiro. Believe me, I'm grateful for that."

"I wouldn't go so far - "

"Take the damn compliment already," she snapped. "You're a good kid, Akechi. If Futaba's going to be influenced by anyone, I'm glad it's you."

"Oh." Heat creeped up the nape of his neck. "Futaba's the one usually berating me for not keeping up with the times. I'm not..." Goro closed his eyes. "Hip. As the kids would say."

"Oh God." Isshiki-san snorted. "Yes, you're a veritable old soul."

Her phone buzzed then, and when she glanced down at it she smiled. "I should head home for dinner."

"Take some curry with you."

"How could I? Sojiro'll go bankrupt if the two of you keep giving me free food every time I come by."

"We always have leftovers anyway," he said, already taking out two containers from the fridge and wrapping them in a plastic bag for her. "Morgana and I can only eat so much before we get sick of it ourselves."

"... Morgana. You feed the cat curry," Isshki-san said flatly.

"You'd be surprised what he can eat. Or how high his food bill is."

"I'll find out soon enough." She put a bill down for the coffee and got up. "One more thing, Akechi-kun."

"Yes?"

"You and the Phantom Thieves," Isshiki-san said. "You'll be continuing your work, won't you?"

"... yes." Goro put his hands down by his side. "I hope that's not a bother to you."

"Me? Never," she said. "But you're only teenagers after all, and..." Her expression dimmed. "Children shouldn't have to do this kind of thing. No matter the justification."

"In a better world, yes." Goro smiled. "But when the law fails, who's left to do the job?"

She laughed. "You sound like that boy detective who's on TV all the time."

"You mean Kurusu?" Even Isshiki-san knew about him?

"He says the same things you do," she said. "How he never would have gotten involved with the law if the police back home had done their jobs properly, but now he has to pick up the slack." She tilted her head. "You're his age, right? Do you know about that incident that supposedly made him what he is now?"

"No, ma'am," said Goro. "I'm afraid I don't."

* * *

**Goro** : Are you free tomorrow?  
**Kurusu** : ?  
**Goro** : There's a cafe I want to go to.  
**Kurusu** : And you don't want your bevy of other friends to go along with you because...?  
**Goro** : I'm asking you.  
**Goro** : If you're busy I don't mind.  
**Kurusu** : No, I'm game.  
**Kurusu** : I just thought you were still mad at me.  
**Goro** : ?  
**Goro** : Didn't we make up last time?  
**Kurusu** : Huh.  
**Kurusu** : I guess we did.  
**Kurusu** : Are you bringing the cat?  
**Goro** : No.  
**Goro** : Morgana's been wanting his own space lately.  
**Kurusu** : Great.  
**Kurusu** : I'll be there then.  
**Kurusu** : It'll be our first date.  
**Goro** : If you insist.  
**Kurusu** : ??????????  
**Kurusu** : Did someone replace you with a changeling??  
**Kurusu** : How are you not chewing my head off right now???  
**Goro** : I'm trying not to be as much of a stick in the mud lately.  
**Goro** : Also, I want to tell you about that situation regarding my friend.  
**Kurusu** : Ooooh yeah I remember.  
**Kurusu** : Plus Kitagawa.  
**Kurusu** : You have to tell me how you know him.  
**Goro** : Do I?  
**Goro** : (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧  
**Kurusu** : Did you just use kaomoji on me??????  
**Kurusu** : ?????????????????  
**Kurusu** : My brain is leaking rn.  
**Goro** : Have a good night, Kurusu.  
**Kurusu** : Bye?????  
**Kurusu** : (-_-)ゞ゛

* * *

"Morgana. Morgana." Goro shook the cat awake.

"Huh? Huh? Wha?" Morgana jolted up from his place in bed. It was three-thirty in the morning, the room pitch-dark and silent but for their breathing. "What is it?"

"You were talking in your sleep." Goro stroked his fur. "It didn't sound good."

"Oh. Yeah." The cat sagged under his touch. "It's complicated."

"You know you can tell me," he murmured.

Morgana scooted away. "Nah. Don't feel like it."

"Don't be like that - "

"How about this," the cat said from the foot of Goro's bed. "I'll tell you about my dreams when you tell me about you and Shido." When Goro stiffened, he added: "See? I can keep secrets too."

"It's... complicated," Goro said eventually; lamely.

"Everything is," Morgana grumbled. "Just... let me sort it out on my own, okay? I'll tell you if it's really important." Slowly, his blue eyes began to creep shut. "You should too."

"Alright," Goro said. But by the time he managed it, his friend had already fallen asleep.

* * *

"You were wrong, you know."

From across their small table in the cafe, Kurusu blinked his slate-grey eyes at Goro, fresh order of coffee and pancakes smothered in a drizzle of macadamia nuts and honey and cream ready for consumption in front of him, and said, "Oh... kay."

Goro couldn't help but grin. "I didn't have to set myself on fire for anything. It turned out I just had to give my friend and her mother the opportunity to clear the air together, and they resolved it."

"All on their own...?" Kurusu looked doubtful. "Sounds like wishful thinking, no offense. People don't flip a switch overnight, no matter how much we want it."

"Please," said Goro. "I know that people can't change so easily. God knows I've had a bitter time of it myself. But - " He took a bite of his own pancakes, a sweet and simple taste of strawberries and fresh cream, and savoured the taste. " - if someone wants to, and you have the opportunity to give it to them, then why not?"

"I guess," said Kurusu. "What are you going to do if it gets bad again though?"

Goro shrugged. "We'll be there for her if it happens."

"We?"

"My friends and I."

"A support system. That's nice." The boy drank his coffee. "This friend of yours wouldn't have to be Isshiki, would it?"

Goro nearly stabbed his own tongue with his fork. "What?"

"The little ginger you were trying to drag out of Kosei with Kitagawa almost two weeks ago." Kurusu smirked at Goro's expression. "Admit it, that was a funny scene to walk into."

"Really? Because that was the most humiliating moment of my life," Goro glowered.

"It's a good thing you two made up then. I would have hated to call school security on you."

"Narcing on me to the authorities. Disgraceful."

"...  _what_  did you just say to me right now."

"Nothing." Goro was as calm as the Buddha. "I said nothing."

"Narc," Kurusu repeated. "You just called me of all people a  _narc_."

"I highly recommend you drop this subject, Kurusu."

"Oh, now you're cold again!" The boy laughed. "Fine, I get it. Want to tell me about Kitagawa instead?"

"He's a friend too."

"And Madarame's last pupil before the old bastard turned himself in." An unexpected shot of venom injected itself into Kurusu's voice at the mention. "Man would I have liked to see Sae-san tear him a new one in court. The new prosecutor's a total blowhard in comparison."

Oh, right. "I don't suppose you know anything new about the case," Goro said.

"I wish! No loose lips on this ship, unfortunately." Kurusu cut into his pancakes. "Don't worry though, seriously. He pissed off a lot of rich people who want revenge. Was selling off copies of the Sayuri for ten million yen a pop - "

"Ten million!" Goro nearly spat out his drink. "What in God's name was he doing with all the money then!"

"Hell if I know." Kurusu turned serious. "Look. Don't go blabbing this out to just anyone, but..." He ran fingers through his nest of hair and sighed. "It's like with Kaneshiro. Both of their objectives seemed to have been about getting - and laundering huge amounts of money from people who had the incentive to keep their own mouths shut. But somehow everything we've looked into - their assets, their bank accounts, anything they're legally linked to - just don't match up with what was coming in. Where that money went, and to  _who_  is like a blank page."

"Do you think the cases are related?"

"A famous artist and a yakuza boss? No way in hell," said Kurusu. "Until the Phantom Thieves got to them both one after the other." He frowned. "Do they know something Sae-san and I don't?"

At which point Goro smiled a very sweet smile and said, "The Thieves seem to just go for people they find unjust. Similarities between criminals are probably much more likely than we think just because of the nature of their work."

"... yeah," said Kurusu. "I suppose there's only a few types of people who'd go this far to hurt others."

Goro sipped his coffee in relief. "Right."

"But," the boy added. "If their cases were related... that'd be worth digging into, wouldn't it?"

The look he was giving Goro set goosebumps on his skin. "I'm scared to even ask," he mumbled against a forkful of pancakes.

"Hey. You want to help Kitagawa, don't you?"

Goro swallowed wrong, coughed against his palm. "What?"

"If someone had done to me what Madarame did to him," said Kurusu. "I'd want to take him for all he was worth."

"Kitagawa's not..." Goro gulped down his coffee to recover. "He's not like that. For better or for worse, he's not the kind to think about revenge."

"It's not revenge."

Kurusu's voice was flat, and it took Goro a moment to realize the boy wasn't joking. "I beg your pardon?"

"It's not." Kurusu stared at him. "I want to look into Madarame's dealings and find out what makes him tick so freaks like him can never hurt anyone again. Revenge would be... blowing out his kneecaps or gutting him in his cell or something. What we're doing is - "

"Detective work," Goro said. "No, I understand. And... I apologize. For assuming your reason was so base."

Kurusu smiled again, and this time it was as real as one Goro had ever seen from him. "You're not the first to say that," he said, gazing down at his plate.

"You... aren't popular with everyone, then?"

Kurusu snorted. "Akechi, half the public thinks I'm a delinquent who needs to be put in my place and the cops want to decimate me on sight. Sae-san's the only one who ever gave me any respect from the moment I met her. Only a few months ago I was a dumbass kid with a folder full of anecdotes and accusations about some local shitheels the cops wouldn't touch because they were too important or their friends or BS like that. Sae-san's the only one who sat down with me and listened to what I had to say, and I appreciate the hell out of her for it."

Hm. That did sound like a Nijima. One wondered if Makoto would affirm this opinion of her sister so readily. 

"So that's why you work with her," said Goro. "Even though she's a prosecutor."

"Yep." Kurusu shrugged. "It's just me otherwise. And even with my reputation, a lot of places don't want to let a nosy kid in to poke around for clues and bug people." He grinned, though it was slower to come than usual. "You think Shirogane ever had this problem? She did come from a whole family of detectives, if I remember."

"A pedigree pays," Goro said, remembering Okumura's words. "No matter one's personal situation.

"Thank you for your thoughts, Kurusu-kun," he added.

"What for?" The boy looked at him in surprise. "And why are you using an honourific with me again?"

"Let me talk," said Goro. "What I wanted to say was... I think I understand you more now." He smiled. "Before, I thought you were... I'm not sure, some strange baby anarchist who had wandered into my life by way of Leblanc and just enjoyed making me uncomfortable."

"Wow," Kurusu muttered. "I'm so flattered."

"You're smiling though."

"That's my annoyed smile. Keep going."

"Maybe," Goro said,"you do have a sense of justice after all, and I've misread you this whole time."

"... thanks?" Kurusu looked dumbfounded. "At least I'm not subhuman in your eyes anymore?"

"You never were. Now tell me what you've been dying to say all this time."

"Oh." The boy narrowed his eyes. "Well, I was going to suggest we put our heads together and try to look at the Madarame and Kaneshiro cases to see if there's a link, but now I'm just offended."

"No, you're not."

"I am. Make it up to me."

Goro couldn't find a reason not to play along. "What do you want, then?"

"Go on a real date with me," said Kurusu, and made Goro spew coffee all over him.

* * *

(... he told him he'd think about it.)

* * *

"Congratulations on your full recovery, Mishima-kun!"

Ann blew on a party horn while Suzui clapped her hands and Ryuji and Goro unfurled the ridiculous YOU DID IT! banner they'd made the day before.

They were in the Mishima family's backyard, the party boy himself sitting in a camp chair while his mother cooked vegetables and seafood and meat for them on a grill. "Thanks, guys," he said with a small smile on his face.

"No problem," said Ann. "We're all rooting for you!"

"Yeah, dude," Ryuji said. "You're the real deal."

"... you've been strong." Suzui smiled.

Mishima gulped. "Thanks for bringing Morgana too, senpai."

"It was my pleasure," Goro said. "I know how fond you are of him."

"Mrr," said Morgana mournfully from his place on Mishima's lap. "Goro, I want some of those grilled scallops later."

"He's so chatty," Suzui said. "It must be fun to have a cat that talks to you all the time."

Ryuji sniggered. "Yeah, he never shuts up. Hey!" When Ann elbowed him.

“Ryuji! Don’t be an ass.”

“What! I'm just teasing.”

Ordinarily Morgana would have just barked back a snappy comment, but he just put his head down and let Mishima pet him without further complaint. He could just be pretending to be the cat he proclaimed he wasn't…. but Goro wasn't so sure.

“Want something to drink?” he asked.

“Ooh, milk tea!”

“1UP for me.”

“Second Maid is always nice.”

“... water is fine."

“Really.” Goro tilted his head. “You don't want to live a little? You don't have to go to physical therapy anymore.”

Mishima shook his head. “I'm fine.”

His choice. Goro went over to the cooler and fished several drinks out of the ice before stopping to watch Mishima’s mother cooking their food for them.

He went over. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“Eh? For what?” She looked surprised he was even talking to her.

“Making food for us,” Goro said. “We can do it ourselves if you like.”

“No, no. Please, let me.” The woman smiled. “Yuuki hasn't brought home friends in years. So I'm just happy to see people around him. Especially since…”

Her voice dropped. “So many people came to the hospital to wish us well. But you four are the only ones who’ve kept on visiting, even when it's been inconvenient for you, or when Yuuki was in a bad mood. You can't imagine how grateful I am.”

“Oh.” Goro was at a loss. He saw Mishima at therapy once a month for maybe a couple of hours. The others, maybe more. “No, it's… don't worry about us. We're not the ones who need help.”

"You're so kind." She turned the grilled kabocha and corn and onions with her tongs. "I hope you and Yuuki can be friends for a long time."

She didn't seem to know Goro would be graduating the next year. "I will," he said, the half-lie passing through his throat easily.

He returned to the group and passed everyone their drinks. Only Mishima was missing, Morgana sprawled out in his chair instead.

"He said he had to go to the bathroom," Ann explained, when Goro inquired where the boy had gone. "Mmm, can you smell the meat already?"

"It's ready now!" Mishima's mother called out. "Come, please have some."

"Oh, wow!" said Morgana when Goro came back to him with a small plate of grilled shrimp and squid and oysters. "Thanks, Goro." He ate with gusto, and everyone else began to tuck in.

Mishima wasn't in the bathroom still, surely?

"Oh, Yuuki's like that sometimes," his mother said, heaping a full plate for her son. "He gets moody nowadays, and it can't be helped. It's no one's fault, of course - " Laughing uneasily. "But he's not the same as before."

No. How could he be?

"Let me take that plate for you," Goro said, and the middle-aged woman glimmered with joy.

He entered the first floor of the Mishima house through the living room patio. "Mishima?" he called out, looking around at all the ordinary detail around him; the cramped kitchen with pots and pans hanging from a rack, household sauces and condiments crowding the wooden counters, the outdated gas stove; the living room with its leather couch and lace doily over the piano, backed up against one wall; the ten-gallon aquarium bubbling away with a shoal of tiny silvery fish and growing green marimo.

And the quiet sniffling coming from within the first-floor toilet.

Goro knocked. "Mishima? Is something wrong?"

"N - no! I'm busy. Please, go away."

"Your mother made lunch for all of us," Goro said. "Don't you want to try it? She told me the grilled corn onigiri is your favourite."

The door creaked open slightly.

"I'm not hungry," mumbled a bloodshot Mishima from through the crack.

"Come on," Goro said companionably. "Tell me what's wrong."

"You wou - wouldn't get it."

"Try me."

For a moment, nothing but heavy breathing. Then:

"... wish you guys hadn't come."

Had he heard that correctly? Goro said, "Are we bothering you?"

"Just because you feel sorry for me," Mishima said from across the wooden door. "You don't have to pretend like we're friends or anything. Mom wouldn't have even known if you didn't show up today. Now she's going to..."

His voice died out, and Goro thought he might understand.

"Can I open the door?"

Mishima said nothing, but didn't protest when Goro eased the door open, and there he was, sitting on the covered toilet seat in a white polo shirt and baggy shorts, his legs pale and skinny, his socks drooping down his ankles.

He didn't have bandages hanging off his face or fingers anymore. But his expression, now that there was no one to fool, was one of exhaustion. His hair was dull and limp and black, his eyes a brown void; his lips, compulsively bitten.

"No one at school ever wanted to hang out with me before," Mishima said. "I don't see why it has to change just because I jumped off a roof once or twice."

Good grief. "If Suzui heard you say that - "

"Suzui didn't have to learn how to walk again."

"Well, Suzui cares," said Goro. "So does Takamaki, and Sakamoto - "

"And you?" Mishima stared at the floor. "Senpai. I appreciate what you did for me. I know you're the Phantom Thieves. That part's really obvious."

"Oh." Goro's mouth was dry.

"But all this..." The boy looked pained. "Trying to hang out with me and make me feel better... you don't have to. I wouldn't blame you if you stopped."

Ah.

"Do you think we're fake for it?" Goro asked.

"Huh?"

"You can be honest." He smiled, aware of how ridiculous it was he was still holding a plate of lukewarm food while half-way in a bathroom with a boy on the verge of a breakdown. "If you think Suzui and the others and I are fake for continuing to visit you when none of us even knew you or tried to be friendly with you beforehand."

Mishima shrugged.

"I don't even know what fake is," the boy said, scratching his nose. "Just that no one would have visited the old Mishima every month like a doctor's checkup. That's what it feels like." He cracked a weak smile. "You're all checking up on me to make sure I recover and don't go back to... whatever mood I was in when I jumped. And... maybe you do care about me, but not the way friends care about each other. Like I'm just an itch you need to scratch to make yourselves feel better."

"What did Kamoshida do to you?" Goro said, unable to stop himself.

"It was supposed to be Suzui that day," Mishima said, seemingly oblivious to his tactlessness. "I was supposed to get her for him."

"Oh."

"Whatever." Mishima closed his eyes. "You don't have to put on a face like that. Like I was..." He swallowed. "Kamoshida never touched me. Not like the girls. I think that's supposed to make me feel better. Weird how it still makes my skin burn. Why doesn't the feeling ever go away?"

And like that, Goro noticed how short his nails were, bitten nearly to the bone.

"... I don't know." He put the plate of food aside on a nearby table, came back with gathered thoughts. "When I was a child, there was a teacher who hated seeing me write with my left hand. Whenever she caught me she would take a ruler and hit me on the fingers for every word I put down. Sometimes I'd have stripes on my hands for weeks on end."

"Oh yeah," said Mishima. "I forgot you're from one of those places." He smiled a little. "I guess my fucked-up stories don't even compare, then."

"I'm not here to brag," Goro said. "There's nothing entertaining about being afraid to hold a pencil properly until I was eight."

"Why didn't you ever switch hands?"

"My body wouldn't let me." He pressed his lips tight. "Maybe it was pride, or just paralysis. Instead, I just refused to write most of the time. The teachers thought I was so stupid I should drop out of elementary school."

"Oh." Mishima gnawed on a nail so short it was digging into the raw skin beneath. "But you have the highest grades in school now. What changed?"

"I got used to the feeling," Goro said. "When it wouldn't go away, I pretended it was a badge of honour. Like I was a bandit prince, and I had gotten struck by a villain's sword to protect my friends. The more it hurt, the braver I was, and the more people I saved."

"I'm not brave though," Mishima said. "And I don't want the feeling to last." He looked up at Goro, and his gaze was wide and tired and empty. "Am I allowed to want it to go away?"

"Of course," said Goro.

"Then I wish it'd go away now," said the boy. "So I could go back to being the old me, and everyone would stop feeling sorry for me without feeling guilty for it. I hate that the most, when they start crying and I have to say something or they won't stop."

"Do you feel like crying?" Goro asked, and Mishima said:

"Yeah. But I won't. Not until you leave. No offense."

Which was fair as any answer he was ever going to get from anyone.

"Alright," said Goro. "I won't bother you any longer, then."

Mishima nodded, and went back to rubbing his eyes the moment Goro shut the door again.

* * *

**Futaba** : Aaaand it's done!  
**Futaba** : Please, hold the applause until the end of the show.  
**Goro** : Thank you, Futaba.  
**Futaba** : WHAT DID I JUST SAY  
**Makoto** : We appreciate your hard work.  
**Yusuke** : Yes, none of the other Thieves could do what you do.  
**Futaba** : Aww! That's very nice of you, Inari.  
**Yusuke** : My pleasure.  
**Ann** : Does this mean what I think it means then?  
**Futaba** : Yeyeye!  
**Futaba** : BEACH PARTY!!  
**Futaba** : You better bring the goods Akechi!  
**Goro** : Why am I always left with the shopping?  
**Ryuji** : Well you do get all our money dude.  
**Makoto** : If it's a bother I can help you, Goro.  
**Goro** : It's fine.  
**Goro** : There's a grocery store right by the house anyway.  
**Futaba** : See? He just likes to complain for attention.  
**Goro** : Can we move on?  
**Futaba** : FINE  
**Futaba** : Medjed won't be a problem anymore.  
**Futaba** : And the Phantom Thieves are gonna be bigger than ever.  
**Goro** : ?  
**Makoto** : What did you do, Futaba?  
**Ann** : I'm scared to even ask...  
**Futaba** : Nothing!  
**Futaba** : Just letting the world know who's the new cool kid in town.  
**Yusuke** : Oh dear...

* * *

**Are the Phantom Thieves just? Y/N**

**66.7% YES**

_WHO THE HELL IS ORACLE??_

_Is that the first name we've actually gotten from the Thieves? I thought they were some nebulous group like Anonymous but nevermind lol._

_RIP Medjed_

_well that was fun for like 10 minutes_

_This is a step down from taking down the mob but w/e I'll take it._

_Medjed called them out and threatened to dox them. What do you think the Thieves should have done?_

_I didn't say they were wrong to expose Medjed dumbass I'm saying whatever they were doing before is way more interesting than trying to protect their own rep._

_Who do you guys think the Phantom Thieves are?_

_PS please don't comment if you think they're just some high schoolers because they took down a teacher from Shujin first. These guys have connections._

_Yeah they're all inside men in a whole bunch of industries imo. The people they got to fess up wouldn't be bullied into it by mere kids._

_Plus they have a hacker now??_

_Makes me wonder if they're recruiting._

_HIRING: blackmailer, entry position, 5+ years experience only_

_As if anyone on this stupid forum is qualified enough to pick up the Thieves' trash at the end of the day._

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_did y'all hear what kurusu said on tv the other day_

_yeah tell me more about mr thirst. please, i'm dying for more_

_"ooh phantom thieves take me now!!" that's what the stupid fuck sounds like_

_Crackpot theory: Kurusu IS one of the Phantom Thieves. The leader even._

_He already has a public persona dumbass. And why would he have another crime-fighting alter ego when the Third Eye is stupid enough?_

_Take Kurusu to his thread please. I don't want to hear about him anymore._

**THIS POST WAS DELETED BY ADMIN**

_idk guys i think kurusu is cute :( he tries so hard to be taken seriously!_

_at least he has one thing in common with shirogane then_

**THIS POST WAS DELETED BY ADMIN**

_So... can we speculate on the Thieves' next target yet or are we just going to have another shadowban thread?_

**THIS POST WAS DELETED BY ADMIN**

_You get shadowbanned! And you get shadowbanned! WE ALL GET SHADOWBANNED!!!_

**THIS POST WAS DELETED BY ADMIN**

_It has to be Okumura Foods. Their CEO is on some Jeff Bezos shit._

_Yeah a businessman next would be a nice way to diversify their portfolio._

_Because they're applying to the PSIA or something??_

_Let the Phantom Thieves hunt in peace!_

_They should go after Shido. That guy's had rumours crawling around him for years._

_Yeah, and none of it has ever stuck or even gone to court so what? You going to smear everyone who doesn't have the same politics as you now?_

_Do I seriously have to explain what a corrupt judicial system is on a forum about people who bring corruption to light..._

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_I hope they go after Okumura Foods next._

_I worked for them for 10 years._

_Never missed a day, never late, always made above quota._

_Then I hurt my spine in an accident and they fired me within a month._

_Fuck you what does a wheelchair have to do with being a salesman anyway???_

_They screwed me over with my pension and benefits too._

_10 years of hard work and now I'm on disability and no one will hire me._

_Okumura Kunikazu can go to hell._

_I hope the Phantom Thieves eat him alive._

* * *

"Let's see... onigiri, check! Meatballs, check! Tamagoyaki, check! Wow, you brought a container just for fruit? I didn't know you had it in you, Akechi!"

"Futaba..." said Goro, as she rifled through the bentos he had brought while everyone else was setting up umbrellas and beach towels around them. "Do we have to do this now?"

"I'm doing a quality assurance check," the girl said, fishing out a whole plump strawberry and popping it into her mouth. "Sojiro sesh your food wush - "

"No."

Futaba swallowed. "Apparently your cooking sucked ass in the beginning. So I'm testing it now. Wouldn't want everyone to get food poisoning, you know?"

"How nice of you to take the hit for us, then," said Makoto, umbrella under her arm as she walked past.

"Urk. I didn't think about that."

"Why don't you defend our food then?" Goro said. "And keep an eye on Morgana, please."

"Of course," Futaba said. The cat was currently hiding under one of their umbrellas, black fur and fleshy paws not a stellar combination with bright sun and heat-absorbing sand.

"Hey," she added, in a quieter voice. "Is... umm, Morgana okay lately? He seems a bit down."

"Bad dreams, mostly."

"Or he's finally gotten sick of you."

"Maybe you can find out what's gotten into him," Goro said, ignoring the comment.

"True. Morgana does love the ladies, after all." She pushed her glasses up on her nose. "Alright. Mission start!"

Futaba safely occupied, Goro observed the other Thieves in motion: industrious Makoto, adjusting the angle of each umbrella to maximize both shade and sightline of the shore; Ann laying out the towels in colour-coordinated fashion while minimizing the potential for sand to bulge in through the gaps; Yusuke, wearing a white hoodie over his swim shorts to protect his porcelain-pale skin from the sun while angling for a view of the beach through his fingers with the contemplative expression Goro had become so fond of; and Ryuji, fishing through the bucket of old toys he had brought from home to build sandcastles.

There had been river banks in Fuefuki, but no such thing as beaches. And Goro's toes were very warm in the sand, and wriggling.

Actually, it was a crab. Never mind.

"This was a good idea," Makoto said when Goro approached her. "It's been years since I've done something like this."

"Too busy with student council meetings?" He smiled.

"Yes. Among other things." She looked down. "Like having no one to accompany me."

Well, this was going great already. "Me either," said Goro. "It's nice, having friends to go with everywhere."

Makoto laughed.

"Something funny?"

"Not at all. It's just - the first time we met, I could never have predicted we'd be friends one day. Much less everything we've been involved in."

"Getting kidnapped does bring people together," Goro said.

"Please don't remind me," she muttered. Then her expression changed. "Does it still bother you? I'd hope by now there are no lingering injuries..."

"Not at all. It might be hard to believe, but I can take a few hits."

"Well. As long as you don't make a habit of it." She adjusted her headband. "Sandcastles, then? I'd like to see your work."

"You make it sound like a competition," Goro said, as if the prospect wasn't already itching in his fingers, ticking away in his mind.

"Oh," said Makoto, gaze glittering. "But isn't it?"

* * *

 "You guys are taking this way too seriously!" Ann protested in defeat half an hour later, as nearly all of the sand building toys were commandeered by Goro and Makoto for their respective forts.

"Yeah, we're dying of boredom over here!" Futaba called out from under an umbrella while chomping on an onigiri, Morgana curled up at her side.

Ryuji had already given up on his castle and stomped it in a pique of frustration when his towers kept collapsing. Ann's was... decent for what she was attempting, which wasn't much. Yusuke was building something secretive a fair distance from everyone else and refused to be interrupted lest he break out of the zone.

And Goro and Makoto?

"My," said she. "I didn't expect something so traditional out of you, Goro."

What was a castle but a castle at the end of the day? "You as well," Goro said, tongue between his teeth. "You never struck me as the modernist type."

"There's a hidden side to everyone."

He stole a quick look and smiled. "I'm afraid your hidden side looks awfully geometrical at the moment and little else."

"Geometrical! If that's how you see it." From the light tone of her laugh he'd dropped a point in her estimation.

No matter. Goro was going to win this.

* * *

Ten minutes later time was called, and after giving herself sole judging rights, Futaba sashayed over to Goro's castle and tsked with her hands on her hips. "Oh, Akechi. You gave what you thought the people wanted, but not what they  _really_  needed deep inside. Points for technical precision, but you have no imagination. Retire, bitch."

"What?" Goro said, Ryuji sniggering besides a wanting-to-laugh-but-not-lest-she-hurt-his-feelings Ann. "Futaba, that's ridiculous. Your opinion is flawed."

"NO TAKE BACKS!" bellowed Futaba, throwing out her hands as she moved over. "Next, Makoto! Your castle has flair. It's unique. The take is spicy."

"Thank you," Makoto said, obviously pleased despite the inanity of the commentary.

"But! It looks like a bunch of boxes glued together, and cubism is so last century. I'm falling asleep already. Inari! You're up."

"Oh," said Makoto.

"Now imagine this," said Goro. "But every day. Even at Leblanc I have no peace."

"I'm... so sorry."

They followed the others to Yusuke's creation, which wasn't a castle at all but some kind of mermaid creature. Everything was clearly molded by Yusuke's hands alone, and even half-done as it was, the detail was... impressive. How he he carved the shell pattern on her fish half with only his fingers, Goro wondered.

"I'm not done," he was saying. "So if you please, Futaba, I'd like to continue working on this."

"You heard him," said Goro as he came up. "Futaba, just eat your onigiri."

"Boo! You take his side on everything," said Futaba. "Fine, Inari's disqualified. Ryuji, Ann, you vote."

"Huh? Huh? Huh?" said Ann.

"Yeah, leave us out of this."

"Ask Morgana," said Goro, then frowned when he couldn't find the cat anywhere. He turned his head and sighed. He was still under the umbrella in the same spot he'd been for an hour. "Still? Futaba, did you get anything from him?"

"Nope." The girl splayed out her hands in a "who knows?" gesture. "He did grumble about you keeping secrets though. As if that's a big surprise."

"Maybe I could talk to him?" Ann said.

"You're the one who broke his heart, dude."

"Shut up, Ryuji! Don't act like it was ever going to happen."

"I'm not sure pestering him is going to put him in a better mood," said Makoto. "We should just be patient. Right, Yusuke?"

"Absolutely," said Yusuke, then lifted his head for the first time and looked at them. "I beg your pardon, what were we talking about?"

* * *

**Kurusu** : Hey.  
**Kurusu** : Got some people willing to talk about Madarame and Kitagawa.  
**Goro** : ?  
**Goro** : Did you mean Kaneshiro?  
**Kurusu** : My bad.  
**Kurusu** : Greasy fingers.  
**Kurusu** : Tell me when you're free.  
**Goro** : Sunday would be good.  
**Kurusu** : Sounds great.  
**Goro** : I'm surprised you haven't suggested talking to Kitagawa.  
**Kurusu** : Would you mind if I did?  
**Goro** : ?  
**Kurusu** : He's your friend after all.  
**Goro** : I'm hardly his guardian.  
**Goro** : I'll ask if he's interested.  
**Kurusu** : That would actually be a lot of help, thanks.  
**Goro** : ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ  
**Kurusu** : Goro please.  
**Kurusu** : I don't know how to handle this brand new adorable you.  
**Goro** : See you on Sunday.  
**Kurusu** : See you.  
**Kurusu** : (*´∀`*) ... ?  
**Goro** : (*´∀`*)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goro! Your 4 Kindness 3 Charm is looking good on you! Turns out the Medjed arc was good for everyone :D
> 
> So yeah... not much happens in this chapter, but I really did not feel like writing summer vacation + 30 billion Confidant vignettes + the Hawaii trip all in one. Plus once the Okumura arc starts properly things are going to get very complicated for the rest of the story. I can just feel my POWER OF SUMMARY levels rising to keep my sanity in check...
> 
> FREE IDEA FOR PERSONA 5: CRIMSON + P6, ATLUS: Let you double/triple-up on Confidants if they're all available to hang out with yet don't have enough points to rank up. Imagine our dear Pego getting swole with Ryuji and Makoto, gardening with Haru while Yusuke vibes in the background and takes the produce home (again, feed Yusuke!), going shopping with style icons Ann and Akechi, gaming with Futaba and Mishima and Shinya at the arcade lol et cetera. Fyi most if not all of these scenes will happen in this fic I'm just sayin'.
> 
> Goro and Akira finally have a sweet moment! The challenger approaches with style! Goro uses KAOMOJI! It's INSANELY EFFECTIVE!!!
> 
> Next time: the Hawaii trip with possible ~romantic tension~ with everyone's favourite art waif, Goro questions people with Akira for that much-needed Justice rank-up and encounters a tabloid journalist with the means and ways to get him answers, Haru returns from finishing school with diminished spirits (but not for long) and Morgana's angst unveils with just as much awkwardness as in canon. Plus, what about those rampage incidents, author? Did you forget about those? 
> 
> Every comment & kudos is balm to my heart, especially since I am currently hacking my lungs out due to a wretched cough. I hope you enjoy this chapter and the following to come!


	14. Prove your justice to society IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thieves go to Hawaii, and a careless mistake made during their previous heist catches up to them.

**14\. Prove your justice to society IV**

 

"Nakanohara-san? May we sit down?"

The man sitting on his own in the Shibuya diner booth looked up in surprise when Goro spoke. "I'm sorry, but I'm waiting for someone else - "

"Yo," said Kurusu, coming up beside Goro at that exact moment. "I brought a friend. Hope you don't mind."

"No, it's fine." Nakanohara looked relieved to see him, and Goro and Kurusu slid into the seat across. The man fidgeted as the waitress came by for orders; Goro ordered a Fruitea, Kurusu plain hot coffee. Something about Nakanohara seemed familiar to Goro, but he couldn't place it...

"Akechi here's my assistant," Kurusu told Nakanohara while Goro coughed. "We just want to ask you a few questions about Madarame if that's okay."

"Sure," Nakanohara said. "But he's already in prison, so why do you need me for this? I'm even a witness for his trial."

"The old man's in holding. He hasn't been sentenced yet. And there's still some stuff about his background that bugs me."

"I see. You want to build the case against him too."

"... it's more for my own curiosity," said Kurusu, which seemed a self-defeating statement to Goro, but Nakanohara didn't seem annoyed by it. Instead, he slumped his shoulders and sighed into his drink.

"I suppose it's fine, then," he mumbled. "Honestly, there's still... so much I resent from the old days. Things I haven't been able to talk about with anyone else. If I can get this off my chest, then - " He lifted his head, and his gaze was determined. "What do you want to know?"

Their orders came. Goro sipped at his Fruitea through a straw and watched as Kurusu explained his suspicions.

Nakanohara's expression was dark at the end of it all. "All Madarame ever cared about was money and his own self-preservation," he said. "I could see it, even when I was one of his students. I wasn't as young as the others when I started apprenticing for him. He was invested in us painting every day like clockwork, and if he deemed a work good enough he'd take it away. It was... perverse. We all became obsessed with him taking our paintings away as a sign of his approval. If you had a lot left over by the end of the week, you weren't good enough, and you didn't get to eat dinner." He looked down. "I always had paintings left over."

"What did he do with the paintings he took from you?" Goro asked. "Did he claim them under his own name or sell them outright?"

Nakanohara gave him a quick glance as if startled to hear him speak. "Probably both," he said in a low voice. "It had been going on even before I joined him, and I heard it only got worse when I left."

Abruptly, Goro remembered Yusuke's anxiety over his artist's block the first time they met, and all he could taste was bile. How lightly he'd taken it then, how cavalier he'd been.

 _Asshole_.

"How long were you with Madarame?" Kurusu said.

"Five years. From thirteen to nineteen. I... realized what he was truly like when I had difficulty getting into university, and he wouldn't lift a finger to help me, so I couldn't go anywhere." Nakanohara rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Then it all came together. I realized he had no intention of letting my succeed on my own if he couldn't profit from it. He wanted me and the others ignorant and sheltered so all we'd do was paint. We were told not to care about material things or our living environment or anything outside the atelier. I just..." He swallowed. "I snapped. I wanted revenge. To hurt him like hurt us. So one night, when he left the atelier I followed him. I was going to corner him in some alley and beat him to death with my own hands if I could."

" _Christ_ , Nakanohara," said Kurusu, sounding impressed. "Go on."

"He got picked up in a car. I couldn't follow him." Nakanohara sounded resigned. "But I remembered the license plate, and the next time around I followed him in a taxi."

"How'd you get the money?"

"I stole it," Nakanohara said. When neither of them said anything, he added: "We were hungry all the time. I had to. When we were out people always praised Madarame for taking us in. No one would have believed he was starving us."

"You do what you have to survive," Goro said. "And in this instance, it paid off. Where did the car lead him to?"

"A mansion." Nakanohara closed his eyes. "A mansion in Shibuya that must have cost... God, I don't even know how many paintings of ours he sold to get it. I almost threw up in the taxi, and the driver kicked me out. So I... broke into the place. Climbed in over the fence and got into the house through an open window. He had a woman in the house with him. She had on this necklace that would bought rice for all of us for a year, and I... wanted to tear it off her neck and throw it into the trash. I was so angry."

"Did you?" said Kurusu, not smiling any longer.

Nakanohara shook his head. "I lost my nerve when I saw her," he admitted. "I still wanted to hurt Madarame, but if he could afford a place like that then he could do a lot worse to me. I didn't hurt him. Instead, I just stole what I could, then ran away. Selling those things... allowed me a chance for me to stay on my feet while I tried to be a normal human again. I was able to find a job too, aa local bureaucrat. It's not much, but..." His voice drifted off.

"What is it?" said Goro.

"I left everyone behind," said Nakanohara. "I just up and left one day, and I never told anyone where I was going. They just thought I was going to pick up supplies. I still think about it. Whether that was the right thing to do, or the most cowardly action of my life - "

"Nakanohara-san," Goro said. "You were just trying to save yourself."

"Yeah, he's right." Kurusu leaned forward with his arms on the table. "You're not responsible for someone else's actions. Madarame's a piece of shit abuser who deserves whatever he'll get for hurting so many people. You couldn't have stopped him then."

"I was the oldest out of everyone there," said Nakanohara. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"You'd been living with him since you were thirteen," Goro said. "It's not easy to unwire yourself from that kind of thinking, even when you think you should know better."

"No. Instead, I just hurt other people in the process of trying to get over it. If Kurusu-san hadn't knocked me into my senses - "

"Hey," said Kurusu. "Don't mention it. It was a favour to your ex, anyhow."

"Oh... yes, I suppose." Nakanohara reached to his side and brought up his bag, taking out a thick portfolio full of documents. "Here. Take this."

"And this is...?" 

"I didn't sell  _everything_ I stole from Madarame," the man said. "I thought I could keep these for blackmail or to leak to the media one day, but I could never muster the courage to do so. I was too scared. You might actually make use of these papers, so..."

"Is there a reason you didn't go to the cops?" said Kurusu.

"For the same reason as you, Kurusu-san," Nakanohara said. "They'd never believe me."

To that Kurusu only flipped the portfolio open, letting Goro take a peek in the process. Some of the documents appeared to be contracts, things he couldn't easily skim through, but others appeared to be Madarame's personal thoughts. Had he typed out a diary?

No. The artist had been recording something.

_August 19, 2009, one of the entries began. Sent over another two million yen to a company that'll disappear by tomorrow. How long must I continue this charade? To put myself in debt to a serpent like this..._

Another:  _December 26, 2009. One million yen._

"Excuse me," said Goro, snatching the portfolio right out of Kurusu's view and flipping through the pages furiously. "I need to - "

_March 3, 2010. The serpent's hunger is as great as his greed. Three million yen. I have been outmatched. I must continue to feed him._

_June 27, 2010. Only five hundred thousand this time. My home is my sole abode. A sanctuary away from the vulgarities of the world._

_October 16, 2010. He wants more now. He is planning something. Yet it is not enough. Even my own hands can barely keep up._

_November 30, 2010. Three million yen. At this point I will be forced to sell the house and then I will have lost truly everything._

_February 13, 2011. I told the serpent's thug I could spare only three hundred thousand this time. He did not believe me, but is it not the truth? Natsuhiko has become useless, Fumie has forgotten all the basics, Tomoyo cannot even lift her brush now without crying, and even Kazuya flounders now. They have all lost the gift. Only Yusuke is still decent, but his work is still immature. How long will these accursed children continue to fail me?_

Goro stopped reading.

"Hey," said Kurusu. "Is something wrong?"

He sounded hesitant. "Everything's fine," Goro said, but his voice came out strained, and when he touched his face it was hot to the touch.

"He's abhorrent," said Nakanohara. "I hope you understand how I still harbour hatred for him even now."

"I... understand completely." Goro's tongue was swollen in his mouth. "Excuse me a moment."

Kurusu got out of his seat to let Goro slip past, who went to the bathroom only to splash cold water on his face.

Since when had he become so emotional? What would the Velvet Twins think if they saw him like this?

... it wasn't their opinion that mattered. Goro patted his face dry with his hands and left the bathroom when he was ready, only to nearly miss Nakanohara on the way out.

"Wait, Nakanohara-san!" he called out, almost breaking into a run in the crowded cafe. The man was already down the stairs to Central Street when Goro caught up.

"I gave all my files to Kurusu-san," the man said. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, no - " Goro's chest hurt. "I just wanted to ask - you lived with Kitagawa Yusuke at Madarame's, didn't you?"

"Yusuke? How - " Nakanohara startled. "You  _know_  him?"

Goro smiled. "We're friends."

"How is he doing? Did he finally manage to leave Sensei? Tell me - "

" _Easy_ ," said Kurusu, coming out of the restaurant. "Why not give Akechi here your business card and let Kitagawa contact you himself?"

"Of course." Nakanohara fished inside his bag, gave one to Goro with trembling hands.

"How  _is_  our favourite Kosei genius doing, Akechi?" said Kurusu. "You might as well save Nakanohara the heart attack and let him know Kitagawa's alright."

"He is," Goro said. "Yusuke has nothing to do with Madarame anymore. He's living his good life now, and I'll let him know you were thinking about him."

"Good." Nakanohara sagged against the wall. "He was there before I came, and after I left. I always wondered what would happen to him. My God. Thank you for letting me know."

He had to leave after that, and Kurusu and Goro walked down Central Street back to Shibuya Station. The street had a calmer air now - possibly due to the absence of Kaneshiro's thugs, but for how long would it last? Nature abhorred a vacuum, after all.

"Can I ask how you know Nakanohara, Kurusu?" Goro said along the way.

"Believe it or not," said Kurusu. "His ex hired me to get him off her back. He was a complete shithead only a few months ago."

Goro frowned. The man they'd just spoken to didn't seem capable of that. "And how did you do that?"

"Tough love. He turned over a new leaf and I found out about his link to Madarame." Kurusu shrugged. "Just as well, since Sae-san got assigned to the old man's case right after."

"I see."

"What about you, though."

"Me?" Goro blinked.

"When you were looking through the files. I thought you were going to burst a blood vessel."

He looked away. "It was nothing."

"Nah. I get it," said Kurusu. "You hate him, don't you?"

They were at the station. Really, Goro should go, or at least feign a good-natured _I don't hate anyone_  or nonsense like that.

"Yes," he said. "Prison's too good for someone like him."

Kurusu smiled. "Glad we can finally agree on something."

"But it's where he belongs." Goro felt Nakanohara's business card in his back pocket. What would Yusuke think if he heard him say that? "And ideally, where he'll be for the rest of his life."

"We'll get to the bottom of it together," said Kurusu. "See ya later, Akechi."

* * *

**Goro** : I have a question.  
**Goro** : Did anyone by the name of Nakanohara come up in one of the Phansite requests?  
**Suzui** : ?  
**Suzui** : Let me check.  
**Suzui** : Yes.  
**Suzui** : A woman put up a request a few months ago regarding a stalker named Nakanohara Natsuhiko.  
**Suzui** : I was going to send it to you but only a few days later she called it off.  
**Suzui** : Said someone else had already resolved it, so I shouldn't bother.  
**Suzui** : Did something happen?  
**Goro** : No, it's fine.  
**Goro** : Thank you.

Goro put his phone away as the train for Yongen came in.

What had Kurusu meant by tough love, exactly?

* * *

"In other news, disturbing allegations have emerged against the latest victim of the so-called 'rampage incidents'. Only a few days ago, music executive Asakura Shiro was arrested after allegedly attacking several people in a host club in Shinjuku, many of whom were later sent to the hospital for moderate to severe injuries. The accused's lawyer has said his client had had a sudden mental lapse and therefore could not be held responsible for his actions. Since his statement, however, half a dozen young women who used to work under Asakura's label have accused the man of sexually harassing them while they were in his employ, in some cases even threatening them with violence if they didn't - "

Click.

"Kid, you're going to miss school. Come on. Don't watch something so heavy in the morning."

"Yes, Boss."

* * *

"Kawakami-sensei? You called for us?"

"Nijima! Akechi! So glad to see you. Come right this way."

And so, Goro and Makoto followed.

The teacher looked flustered as she led them to the end of the hallway on the second floor. "Listen," she said, crossing her arms. "So you know how investigators are coming to Shujin for questioning? Well, the day some of the faculty are being called in is the same as the start of the Hawaii trip. You two are the most responsible students we have in this entire school, and you're both third years. So..."

"You want us to chaperone," Goro said.

"That's right," said Kawakami, looking at Makoto only for some reason. "That won't be a problem, will it? Your grades are high enough. I don't think missing a week of school will do anything against that."

"Not at all," said Makoto. "In fact, it should look good on our CVs, no?"

"We'd be glad to," said Goro, who had never been abroad before.

"Great!" said Kawakami. "Because some of the second years aren't so, erm, disciplined as you two..."

* * *

"So I'm not going to see any of you for a whole week?" said Morgana, as the Thieves lounged about in Leblanc' attic that afternoon.

"Hey!" said Futaba, clicking away on her laptop. "You'll have me, Morgana. I'm not going anywhere either. My trip's not for another two weeks!"

"Yeah, but..." The cat put his head down on the table. "What are we going to do until then?"

"You could search for our next target," said Ann. "What does the Phansite say?"

"Well..." Futaba opened up a new tab and started reading. "Oh jeez. It's all Okumura all day, every day. What did this guy do to so many people?"

"Okumura?" said Makoto, glancing at Goro. "You don't mean..."

"It's the one and the same." Goro stretched. "My classmate Okumura Haru's accompanying us as a chaperone on the Hawaii trip. And the number one target on the Phansite is the CEO of Okumura Foods - her father."

"That's grisly," said Ryuji. "She's the one with all the tomatoes, right? That stuff saved our asses in Futaba's mom's Palace like ten times. Now we gotta kick her  _dad's_  ass to repay her?"

"No one said that, Ryuji." Goro crossed his arms. "It might be helpful if you did some research though, Futaba. See if it's worth looking into."

"Got it!"

"What about me?" said Morgana. "I can help."

"Sitting still would help enormously," said Yusuke, lifting his head from his sketchbook. "In the same pose as before, if you would."

"Ugh. Never mind." Morgana jumped off the table and padded off. "I'm going to walk around."

"Stay safe!" Ann called out as he disappeared below the stairs.

"So... he's been doing that a lot lately," said Ryuji. "Anyone figure out why yet? Futaba?"

"Nope. In fact - " Futaba glared at Goro over her glasses. "The bigger question right now is why  _you're_  on a nerd hunt with Mr Fancy Pants Kurusu of all people! What is your game here, Akechi?"

"I'd like to know that as well," said Makoto. "Is there a reason you're digging into our former targets with him? What do you think you'll find?"

"I'm not sure," said Goro. "But the questions he's asking are the ones that have been on my mind as well. If we can get to the bottom of their actions - "

"You sure it's that complicated?" Ryuji's brows furrowed together. "We know  _why_  Madarame and Kaneshiro did what they did. Their freaking Shadows  _told_  us."

"It's not that simple." Goro bit his lip. "For example, I think Madarame was being blackmailed."

The graphite of Yusuke's drawing pencil stopped scratching sound.

"In the documents Nakanohara gave us," Goro said, aware of the boy listening in, "Madarame wrote down whenever he had to send to money to someone. He was clearly unhappy about having to do so. Furthermore, the mansion he lived in wasn't under his own name. Just a shell company behind a shell company, and so on. It's been impossible to find any real names in the papers so far."

"For you, maybe," Futaba muttered. "Tell your pretty boy to hit me over with those docs and I'll see what I can fix up."

"Really," said Goro. "Because just now - "

"It's for Inari, you twerp!" she scowled. "Right? Don't you wanna figure out what Madarame's deal was?"

"I," said Yusuke, staring at his sketchbook. "I... am not sure. Excuse me a moment."

And he too, got up and left the attic.

* * *

The Thieves dispersed in awkwardness soon after, and Goro went to find Yusuke, who hadn't gotten very far. He was idling around the ramen bar, which meant perhaps he was hungry.

"I'm sorry," Goro said. "That was tactless of me - "

"Goro," said the other boy. "Tell me. Is it such a wise thing to pursue this lead with Kurusu?"

"You don't trust him?"

Yusuke frowned. "I remembered earlier. When we retrieved Futaba from Kosei - Morgana spoke in his presence. That was foolish."

"The only way that would be a problem is if he knew about the Metaverse."

Yusuke cast his gaze down. "At this point I don't believe it inappropriate to speculate. You know him better than anyone here. Has he ever given you cause for suspicion?"

At this point, Goro could lie.

Goro could say a lot of things, and Yusuke largely believe him for the sake of keeping their peace. They had a respectable, admirable relationship. Goro wasn't going to pretend he didn't have feelings for the boy, even if he had no intention of backing them up. They were what they were. He'd had feelings a dozen times in his life and never felt the need to go further than the silence of sweet suppression innate in him.

But then, what was the point of being a confidant if he wasn't going to tell anyone anything? Why even bother?

"He knows Morgana can talk," Goro said, and told Yusuke about the day at the TV station months ago.

Yusuke closed his eyes then. "You realize then, that the only other Metaverse user we know of excluding ourselves is that elusive Warden figure. What should we do if Kurusu turns out to be him?"

"All we know is that Kurusu can understand Morgana. So can Isshiki-san. That means he's been inside the Metaverse once at  _most_. We can't assume he's the Warden on that basis alone."

"The one behind the rampage incidents. The newest case is especially revolting." Yusuke sighed. "Be careful, Goro. I won't presume to tell you how to spend your time, but the next time you're investigating with him you might wish to bring someone along. Makoto, perhaps."

Goro could imagine those two getting along like a house on fire. "I'll take it into consideration."

A small smile. "Good."

"What about you, then?" he said. "Do you want to talk to Nakanohara?"

"... I haven't decided yet." Yusuke looked away. "Forgive me, but things are still... knowing Sensei might have been blackmailed is putting strange thoughts in my head. Thoughts I am trying to fight off." He smiled. "You understand, surely."

"It still doesn't justify what he did to you," Goro said. "Don't forget that."

"I know, Goro," said Yusuke. "But my heart aches nonetheless. How do you make something like that go away?"

* * *

**Kurusu** : There's a journalist in Shinjuku who has the details on Kaneshiro.  
**Kurusu** : Goes by the name of Ohya. Real willing to tell you anything if you get her drunk enough.  
**Kurusu** : The drinks at Crossroads are her favourite.  
**Goro** : Good grief Kurusu. Please learn some phrasing.  
**Kurusu** : My bad.  
**Kurusu** : Free next Saturday?  
**Goro** : I'd love to, but no.  
**Goro** : I'm chaperoning a second year trip to Hawaii this coming week and won't be available.  
**Kurusu** : Wow.  
**Kurusu** : Akechi Goro, living the high life.  
**Goro** : Doesn't Kosei have a trip going on at the same time?  
**Kurusu** : Yep.  
**Kurusu** : Los Angeles isn't my style though.  
**Kurusu** : I prefer Leblanc.  
**Goro** : You haven't been to Leblanc in a month.  
**Kurusu** : Been busy!  
**Kurusu** : Want to go see Ohya with me when you're back, then?  
**Goro** : It's your case. Don't hold yourself up on my account.  
**Kurusu** : I'm just doing this on the side.  
**Kurusu** : Believe me, it's no fun without you.  
**Goro** : Let's reschedule then.  
**Goro** : Oh, and I don't think Kitagawa is in the mood to talk right now.  
**Kurusu** : No problem.  
**Kurusu** : I think we got everything out of Nakanohara anyway.  
**Goro** : Good.  
**Goro** : I'll tell when we get back then.  
**Kurusu** : Bring me a souvenir!  
**Goro** : We'll see, won't we?  
**Kurusu** : Goro please.  
**Kurusu** : My family is dying.  
**Goro** : I'll get you something.  
**Kurusu** : <(￣︶￣)>

* * *

And then they were in Hawaii.

"Even abroad people know everything about the Phantom Thieves," said Makoto during their first free afternoon. "I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried that it's all they can talk about."

"Doesn't it mean our work's really getting across to people, then?" said Ann as Goro futilely tried to hammer the jetlag out of his head by blinking repeatedly and tapping his temples. "Uh, senpai, are you doing okay?"

"Dude's never been on a plane before." Ryuji clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Shoulda seen him when the turbulence kicked in. He almost grabbed my hand and started praying."

"Almost," said Goro, "is doing a lot for you there."

"Maybe you should head back to the hotel," said Makoto. "I can hold the fort here."

"It's fine." He looked around. "I really have never been anywhere so exotic before. I shouldn't waste the opportunity." Especially since he didn't have to pay for any of it.

"That's the spirit! Hey, are any of you hungry? I want to try the local stuff."

They began walking along the boardwalk, and Ryuji's eyes bugged out when he saw a Big Bang Burger sign. "Really? Even here?"

"It's a popular chain," Makoto said. "Hawaii has a lot of Japanese influence as well."

 _And_  it was owned by Okumura Foods.

He hadn't seen Okumura junior since the hotel. Was it worth asking her about her father? She certainly seemed to hold no fondness for him...

No. No work. "Let's keep looking," he decided.

"Ooh, let me text Yusuke too. You know he's  _always_ hungry."

Ah, yes. The Kosei plane to Los Angeles had been rerouted due to a storm, and they'd moved their trip locale to the same island, same city, and same hotel as Shujin's. Goro was not complaining, but it was possible Kurusu regretted not coming along now. He had made his own feelings semi-seriously clear, and Goro needed to pick a souvenir for him before the trip's end.

Since when had he become such a hot commodity?

* * *

"Loco moco! Wow, there's so much meat..."  _Snap snap_. "And the egg is so gooey!"

"Oh my." Makoto's eyes widened as her own order came in. "American sushi sure is... heavy. Look at all that mayonnaise."

"Hey, I'll eat that if you won't," said Ryuji, already half-done with his bowl of tuna poke and rice. "This stuff is  _crazy_ good. Why don't we have this in Japan?"

Goro inspected his skewer of grilled shrimp before peeling one off and taking a bite. Quite nice, actually. He'd have to add lemon juice next.

"Unagidon for under fifteen hundred yen back home?" Yusuke lifted the first bite to his mouth. "Impossible!"

"What, what! How bad is it?"

"That's not it," said an amused Makoto who'd eaten one of her eight pieces of sushi and was focused entirely on her taro bubble tea at present.

"Maybe I should get that too," Ryuji said, eyeing Yusuke's disappearing bowl. He then pulled out his wallet to check and cringed. "Uh, leader - "

"No," said Goro.

"What? But you pay for  _him_  all the time."

"Yusuke's an artist, Ryuji," said Ann. "You just need not to spend your allowance in one shot."

"Do you know how little money my mom gave me for this trip? Fifty. American. Dollars. I'm gonna starve by the time it's over!"

"How is that our fault!"

"Children, please. Don't you ever get sick of arguing?" said Makoto, and the way the two blonds recoiled in matching disgust was enough to make even Goro laugh.

Later, Ann helped them settle the bill. Goro's English comprehension was passable after years of classes, but like most in his situation he used it only when the most dire situation called for it, e.g. foreigners asking for directions in Shibuya.

"Here, senpai." Ann passed him both his own and Yusuke's bill without comment. Since he had the largest cash flow out of all of them, Goro paid for all their weapons and supplies as well as celebratory post-Palace heists, but when it came to ordinary dining out they took care of it themselves. Most of them.

"Actually," said Yusuke behind him. "I'd like to pay my own bill today, if that's alright with you."

"Whoa. Leaving the nest already?"

Goro ignored Ryuji. "Are you sure?"

"Of course." The boy smiled. "I  _have_  been keeping good care of what you've bestowed so generously upon me the past few months. It's not fair for you to do both that and this at the same time."

"If you insist." Goro passed over the bill, unsure why his fingers felt so heavy and trudgen and slow. Then it was his turn at the counter, and his pockets heavy with American change, and Yusuke paying for his meal with the money they stole from the ashes of fallen Shadows.

* * *

The next day they were at a beach again, and as wet sand squelched between Goro's toes and the waters of the Pacific grazed his ankles, all he could think was that Futaba and Morgana should be here as well.

The Kosei first-year was going on her own class trip to New York in two weeks, but Morgana...

When had it started?

Morgana had been their navigator before Futaba joined the team, and without doubt Oracle was the superior in that matchup. Morgana had been a tremendous help in the beginning, but his knowledge derived from experience alone. Necronomicon could analyze a whole floor of Mementos in a flash, Futaba save them in a pinch if ever they were ambushed. She even healed and buffed them mid-battle on occasion, a great salve to Goro's finances. He could only pay Becky to make so much coffee or curry for a run before his wallet began cursing him.

Morgana  _had_  seemed perturbed his designated spot on the team had been taken when Futaba joined, but neither was he replaceable. None of the Thieves were. He knew that, didn't he?

Goro couldn't help but think his own actions had something to do with it. Morgana had asked him multiple times now the connection between him and Shido, and Goro refused to answer every time. And how could he not? Wasn't he allowed to keep some things to himself?

Only four people in the world knew Shido Masayoshi was Goro's father, and one of them was dead. Where would he be if the list only grew? The man had threatened to sue Goro if he ever approached him again or tried to go to the media. It wasn't worth it.

 _His Palace could be next, you coward,_ something inside him hissed. _Don't let your teammates stumble into a trap because you're too weak to let them how scared you are._

He wasn't scared. But neither did he think he was going to be allowed the luxury of keeping this particular secret any longer.

In the end, everything came back to the past, and identity.

He wondered if Morgana felt the same way.

* * *

"Ryuji's trying to pick up American chicks on his own," Ann said as they all caught some shade under leafy palm trees near the boardwalk. "Someone stop him before it gets too sad, please."

"I respectfully decline," said Yusuke, who then immediately wandered off to collect seashells.

"I'm of the same mind," said Makoto. "Sometimes people have to learn to get back up on their own."

"Mmm," Goro agreed, looking around. Ah. "Makoto - "

"Okumura-san," said she, following his gaze at once. "Should we...?"

"You guys are going to investigate?  _Now?"_

"It seems neither of us are the get-a-tan type," Goro said. "We'll join up with you later, Ann."

"If you say so." Ann shrugged and went out onto the beach. "Your loss!" 

As they approached Okumura Haru, currently sitting on a bench alone and reading a book, Makoto said in a low voice, "It looks like we're going after her father's Palace after all."

"The choice has presented itself nicely," Goro said. "Besides, there are no other obvious targets at the moment - "

_Apart from your own father._

Makoto didn't notice him cutting himself off, thankfully. She went up to Okumura with a smile on and said, "Okumura-san! How has your trip been so far?"

"Oh." Okumura blinked up from her book in surprise. "Nijima-san. Akechi-kun. It's good to see you two."

"Same here!" Makoto said with unnatural peppiness which... alright, were any of the Phantom Thieves decent actors at all, excluding Goro? "May we sit down?"

"Um - "

"It's been a while," said Goro, and smiled the soft smile he knew the girl would like.

"Yes," said Okumura after that, closing her book and putting it away in her bag. "Please, do. I - I should know more about my fellow third-years, after all."

They chatted for a bit about nothing special, and once Okumura appeared suitably warmed up, Makoto gave Goro a glance over the short girl's head and said, "So! It must have been strange to see Big Bang Burger in another country like this."

"A bit," Okumura said. "I've always known it was popular, but yes, it did feel somewhat surreal. Especially when I went in and the employees didn't know who I was."

"Oh?" said Goro.

"Not that they should," she added hastily at the dry look on his face. "It's just - back home I always go to the one on Central Street. It's near my home, and so I've gotten used to the company."

"You're checking up on your father's work," said Makoto. "That's admirable of you."

"I'm not the one doing anything." Okumura blushed. "I just enjoy the atmosphere. It's lively. There's always people coming to and fro, so I enjoy people-watching with a cup of coffee. Even if the quality is quite subpar."

Goro's only real experience with Big Bang Burger was attempting the smallest of their burger challenges to improve his guts early on in the school year, finishing one-third, vomiting in the bathroom while Morgana hid, disgusted, in his bag, then never coming back to the place. Now he just took protein and worked out at the gym.

"You're trying to make your own coffee, aren't you?" he said, trying to remove that foul memory from his consciousness the moment it came to mind.

"You remembered? I'm just growing the beans for now," said Okumura.

"You grow your own coffee beans?" Makoto looked impressed. "Please, go on."

"Are you sure? It can't be that interesting to talk about, surely - "

"We're all ears," said Goro, and saw in real time how Okumura's heart seemed to expand, her cheeks turn to tomatoes.

"I see! Well, then." She even set her shoulders straight and puffed her chest out. "Let me explain..."

* * *

In the end, they learnt nothing new about Okumura's father, but it was hard to consider the conversation a waste of time, especially when afterward she joined them on the walk back to the beach and even gingerly stepped out of her shoes so she could go on the sand barefoot.

"Oh! Hello!" said Ann, who had returned with a sunburnt Ryuji and Yusuke holding something suspicious behind his back. "It's nice to meet you, Okumura-senpai!"

"You as well." Okumura bowed deeply. "Akechi-kun told me you sometimes partake in my produce. I can't tell you how happy that makes me."

"Du - senpai, the honour's all ours," said Ryuji. "Those sun tomatoes are the best I've had in my life."

"Really? No one's ever said that to me before."

Okumura looked overjoyed, but Ann just stared dead-eyed at Goro and mouthed  _thirst machine_. He bit his lip to refrain from laughing, while Makoto said: "Yusuke...  _what_  are you holding there?"

"Ah! So glad you asked, Makoto." Yusuke lowered his arms and presented to the group a pair of fully grown, brown lobsters. "These are friends I bought from a restaurant tank just a few minutes away. The sight of them at the bottom of that crowded dirty place was heartbreaking. I had to save them at once. Unfortunately I only had money left over for these two - but aren't they lovely nonetheless?"

"They said they were gonna cook it for us right there," Ryuji said. "But noooo, you had to take them alive, didn't you?"

"Good heavens," said Yusuke. "They're not for  _eating_ , Ryuji."

"Well, what else are you gonna do with them?! You can't take them back to Japan with you!"

"Can I not? What if I fill my suitcase with a bag full of water - "

"No, dude, no! Also, do you think you're not gonna get caught at Customs?"

"But what if - "

"Anyway, this is our friend group," Ann said hurriedly. "We're a bit kooky, but we get along fine, don't we?"

"It's lively," Okumura said, and smiled. "Thank you for letting me be a part of it."

Unfortunately, as Yusuke thrust one of the lobsters at Ryuji to hold and the latter dropped it only for the poor lumbering beast to crawl away, they weren't even close to done yet.

* * *

Later, she gifted them all souvenir keychains she had bought from Big Bang Burger, and looping the chain of his around his fingers, Goro thought:  _perfect_.

* * *

**Goro** : How goes your research?  
**Futaba** : go to sleep u butt it's like 3am over there  
**Goro** : ?   
**Futaba** : OK fine well...  
**Futaba** : Old man Okumura has a Palace. I checked.  
**Futaba** : Plus half the Phansite's requests are just gunning for him over and over again.  
**Futaba** : Feels weird to be railroaded into a target like this.  
**Goro** : I wonder who else tried that on us?  
**Futaba** : Wow rude.  
**Futaba** : I wasn't out for revenge when I asked you.  
**Goro** : Is that what people want here?  
**Futaba** : Umm you should read some of this shit on the site then.  
**Futaba** : People are ANGRY.  
**Goro** : Have you figured out the keywords yet?  
**Futaba** : I already guessed the location.  
**Futaba** : Okumura Tower.  
**Futaba** : I just can't figure out the distortion...  
**Goro** : Don't attempt it without us.  
**Goro** : It's just you and Morgana right now.  
**Futaba** : Plus scary rampage prison man, don't forget him.  
**Goro** : I haven't.  
**Goro** : That's why I'm saying not to go into the Palace.  
**Goro** : Even just to look.  
**Futaba** : Ok thanks MOM.  
**Goro** : Thank you. Now go do your homework, Futaba.  
**Futaba** : (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )  
**Futaba** : Akechi you motherfuck...

* * *

“Well, aren't  _you_  Mr Popular?” said Ryuji on the last day as Goro’s phone went off repeatedly.

He checked the messages one by one. Makoto. Yusuke. Hifumi.

And Okumura.

All asking if he wanted to spend the evening with them.

“That look on your face,” Ryuji said before Goro could even respond. “Can you at least pretend to be humble?”

And what for? Besides, these were merely friendly requests.

“Maybe your love life will improve one day, Ryuji,” he said as diplomatically as he could muster.

“Yeah, yeah, ain't gotta rub it in…”

An hour later he was at the boardwalk.

* * *

“I hope Hawaii has been good to you,” Goro said as they took their long and meandering walk across the beach. “Even if it involved such a drastic change from the original plan.”

“I am with friends,” said Yusuke. “How could it not be anything but spectacular?”

“How sentimental of you,” Goro teased. “How does your heart not tip over with joy daily?”

“But Goro.” Yusuke blinked. “It does.”

Once again, he was in touch with his emotions in a way that would terrify a lesser man, Goro included.

“Have things changed so much the past few months to make you say that?”

“Without doubt.” The boy sighed. “When I first encountered you that day in the street I could never have imagined where it would lead me.”

And to think, they'd all assumed it was Ann he'd been pursuing. “I'm glad you chose to follow us.”

Yusuke took his hand as they walked, and warmth crept up Goro’s neck like the sun over a shadowed street.

“Thank you, Goro,” he said. “Really, no one has ever been so kind to me before you. All the wonders of the world have opened up since you liberated me from Sensei’s home.”

“It was all you,” Goro said. “I could try to save you, but I could never force you to save yourself. You had to have wanted it of your own free will.”

“Free will?” The boy stopped, and Goro stopped with him. “Where does it lead us ultimately, then?”

The wind picked up, ran through their hair like a mother’s fingers and brushed past their clothes like the touch of a friend.

“Then let me say,” said Yusuke, “that this is of my own free will too, and how much I want this.”

And brought his face near, and kissed Goro.

* * *

He would think of it on the flight back all the way through, and up until he was at baggage claims and took out his phone to check the time.

 **Kurusu** : Something big just came up.  
**Kurusu** : Call me when you get back.  
**Kurusu** : Seriously. I'm begging you.  
**Kurusu** : Do not look at the news until I get you.

 **Futaba** : Um, so remember when you said not to go to the Palace without you…  
**Futaba** : Well Morgana kept bugging me and I managed to guess the keyword and...  
**Futaba** : Welp.  
**Futaba** : Call me ASAP Akechi I'm freaking out.  
**Futaba** : I'm not even support class technically! There's no way I could have chased after him.  
**Futaba** : Oh god what do I doooooo?

Three missed calls from Isshiki Wakaba.

One from Boss.

All but one of those things could wait.

"Get your things," Goro said. "We have to leave.  _Now._ "

* * *

The plan was to drop their luggage off at Leblanc and rush over to Okumura Tower to retrieve Morgana, not a stellar idea considering how jetlagged they were - but to leave a teammate to die because they were  _tired_  was a risk no one was willing to take. Goro called Futaba the moment they left the airport and ordered the girl to get all the weapons and supplies he kept in his room and wait for them in the cafe. It wasn't a problem; she had a key to the Sakura house herself, and the relief in her voice was overwhelming.

"Hurry! Hurry! He's been in there for hours now and I don't know how far he's gone in!"

"At least tell me what the place looks like," Goro said under his breath as the train rattled by to Yongen.

"The keyword was  _outer space_. Like Big Bang Burger. But the Palace itself was a factory - all the Shadows inside looked like robots. I didn't get too far in, but Morgana suddenly said he wanted to do it himself and took off. Like, what the hell!"

"Thanks for letting me know, Futaba," Goro said. "We'll be there soon."

When he hung up, four pair of eyes were looking up at him from where they sat.

"Thank you for doing this," he said, because nothing else seemed appropriate at the moment. Ann was fighting off yawns, and even pristine Makoto was hunched over her suitcase.

"What," Ryuji said finally, arms loosely crossed. "Like you were gonna do it yourself if we all said no?"

Goro said nothing, because it was obvious.

"Goro. It'll be fine," said Yusuke. "We all want to see Morgana home and safe."

"Of course." If the others could see the colour on his face, they didn't say a word about it.

* * *

Leblanc was finally in sight. They dragged their suitcases through the narrow streets while ducking past the afternoon rumble of senior citizens and elementary schoolers. Ryuji kicked the cafe door open. "Yo, Boss, it's an emergency, we gotta - "

"Ah," said the clipped tone of Nijima Sae, Tokyo prosecutor, as Ryuji stopped dead in his tracks and they all bumped into his back. "Come in. I was waiting for you."

Ryuji glared as he went in. "Do we  _know_  you, lady?"

Behind Goro, Makoto sucked in her breath.

In one of the booths Futaba looked petrified, the duffel bag full of their supplies on the table beside her.

Boss was stiff behind the counter. "This prosecutor says you were all snooping at Wakaba's work a month ago. Is that true?"

"Thank you, Sakura-san," said Nijima. "But I don't need your assistance in this matter. Please, sit down." She gestured with a hand, and they all fell into line. Her expression tightened as she saw one person in particular. "Hello, Makoto."

"Hi, sis," the girl mumbled as she took the spot besides Ann.

Nijima resumed after a moment. "A month ago a 110 call was sent from Isshiki Wakaba's workplace to report two suspicious men who had allegedly entered the premises using threats and coercion to get in. Apparently their target was Isshiki; they may have tried to kidnap her, and later her office was destroyed." She collected her hands in her lap, staring at them one-by-one. "I was tipped onto this when the men were later taken in for questioning and arrested. I suspect them to be former employees of the yakuza boss Kaneshiro Junya."

"No way." Makoto turned her head away, and Nijima elder snapped to her at once.

"Makoto," she said in a tone as soft as frost. "I hope this is all new information to you."

"It - it is, sis. I'm just - " Makoto was white as a ghost. "You're working the Kaneshiro case, right? So this must be a godsend for you!"

"... if that's how you want to play it." Nijima reached for her bag and took out a portfolio of full-sized glossy black-and-white photos. "I'm sure you all remember this, don't you?"

It was surveillance footage of the day they'd come to Isshiki-san's workplace to deliver the calling card.

_They'd forgotten about the cameras._

Footage of them in the reception area. Coming out of the elevator on the third floor. Goro, kneeling in front of Isshiki-san's door with the Thieves around him. Isshiki-san coming in, them leaving.

The men approaching. The fight.

Them running away with Isshiki-san into the stairwell.

The two hour recorded gap on the camera data in between when they ran onto the sixth floor and when they left.

"I'd like to take you all in for questioning," Nijima said, and that was when it all came apart.

"What! We didn't  _do_  anything."

"We were just there to surprise Futaba's mom for her birthday!"

"Sis, don't you think this is a big misunderstanding?"

"I'm shocked that someone in your position would resort to intimidating teenagers - "

Futaba didn't speak at all, not with her glasses fogging up and her mouth a downward line.

"They're all kids," said Boss. "And you don't have a warrant to talk to any of them. Not without their parents around."

"Don't I?" Nijima put the files away. "You're the guardian of one of these children right here. Are you saying  _you_  won't give me permission to question him?"

"Not a chance in hell," said Boss, and a small part of Goro's heart ached.

 _A true confidant indeed_ , Robin Hood observed.  _Try not to take it for granted._

He knew. God, he knew.

"Akechi Goro," said Nijima. "I have direct proof of you breaking into a locked office in a government facility. Are you  _aware_  of how serious a trespassing charge would look on your file, considering the precarious situation you're in?"

"I am aware," said Goro, smile plastic and jagged around the corners. "But so must you be, that Isshiki Wakaba will never press charges against me."

"So she's told me." Nijima tilted her head. "But your school runs a tighter ship than that, I'm afraid."

"Bullshit," snarled Ryuji. "You're gonna rat him out for something like that? Who the hell do you think you are, lady?"

"Well?" said Nijima, ignoring him, and all points of thought in Goro's head became one.

* * *

They'd fucked up.

Isshiki-san had never been the true obstacle when pursuing her Palace. It had been their own naivety. How easily they'd taken it for granted they could waltz into a government building and do as they liked because they tricked a well-meaning secretary into letting them in with open arms.

Even though Futaba was a hacker, Goro hadn't bothered to tell her to keep an eye out, nor had he paid attention to them himself. And now they were all on tape, caught and identified because they'd been careless, and because, in his own innocent, bumbling way Kurusu had introduced Goro to the prosecutor before, thinking it might have helped bring them together in a sense of kinship.

All it had done instead was plant a memory of him in her mind, associate him with Makoto, the Isshiki break-in, and through accident, the Kaneshiro case she was working on.

She'd also been the head prosecutor on the Madarame case before. She knew who Yusuke was.

If she went to Shujin with the proof of Goro's mischief, he'd lose his scholarship in a heartbeat. The school was being questioned over the Kamoshida case still; they wouldn't tolerate a scandal like a top student having a predilection for  _breaking and entering_.

Where would the Phantom Thieves be if Goro was expelled and resigned to a life of picking corn and cheap beer back in Fuefuki?

Would Morgana - if he was still alive, somewhere in the creaking machinery of Okumura's Palace - want to come along with him?

Who would make sure Dr Takemi wasn't working herself into an early death?

That Futaba was learning to cook now that her mother was home more often?

That Yoshida still had someone willing to listen to him after another disastrous night where people sneered and jeered and heckled him from the taunts of twenty years ago?

Who was going to weed Okumura's garden for her?

What of Yusuke's kiss?

_Would Kurusu take his side or defend the prosecutor who had been with him from the beginning?_

Goro didn't know.

All he did know was this -

He had to make a choice.

* * *

He said, "Let everyone else go, and I'll come with you to the station."

Nijima narrowed her eyes. "All of you will have to be questioned eventually. You can't presume your testimony is worth more than the others just because you say so."

"I  _know_  more than everyone else," said Goro. "Don't you want to find out how much?"

"Don't do it," said Ryuji. "We don't have to listen to her."

"Senpai. We'll think of something."

"This isn't right, sis," said Makoto. "You're seriously going to threaten Goro's scholarship over this?"

" _Goro?_ " said Nijima sharply, and Makoto shut up.

"How you treat him," said Yusuke, "will determine our own cooperation. Proceed carefully."

"You can't," Futaba said finally, and her voice was in pieces. "You just can't. Please."

"I'm willing," Goro said. "If you are."

"Kid, I am not giving permission to this - "

"Boss. It's fine."

"It's  _so_  not fine!" Futaba got up and stomped her way up the attic. "I hate this, oh my God!"

Before Nijima could reply to that, Goro said quickly: "Shall we, then?"

"... very well." She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Makoto, you're coming too."

"What?" the girl quailed. "But sis - "

"I don't know what you've been doing with these people the past few months," said Nijima. "But I'm going to find out, right now."

"You're gonna interrogate your own sister?" Ryuji looked disgusted. "What kind of person  _are_  you?"

"Your disregard for the conflict of interest present is unethical," said Yusuke, "and lessens the high ground the further you speak."

"High ground?" Nijima looked amused. "I'm a prosecutor. The only thing that matters is getting the job done. Now, after me."

"Don't ever show your face in Leblanc again," Boss said, making her smile grow only more contemptuous.

"We'll see you all later," Goro said. "Makoto, let's go."

"Ye - yes. I guess we have to." She bowed her head. "I'm so sorry, everyone."

"It's not your fault." Ann looked stricken. "We won't leave you behind, I swear."

"Yeah, you have  _not_  seen the last of us."

"No," said Nijima as she walked past them all. "I don't intend to."

Makoto went like a dead man to her side, and Yusuke stood up to let Goro out of his seat, brushing fingers as they did.

"Goro," the boy began, flushed. "Be careful. If anything happens to you - "

"Yusuke," Goro said, and felt calm again. "Look at me. Do you think I'd ever put myself in a situation I couldn't get out of?"

But for once the boy turned his gaze away, unable to say a word in his defense.

He left Leblanc with Nijima and Makoto, and left the rest of the Phantom Thieves and Boss in their wake, silent and shocked and despite their numbers, utterly helpless and alone.

* * *

"You kids have a lot of explaining to do," Boss said when the woman was gone. "What the hell were you doing at Wakaba's place? Why did you break into her office?"

"We weren't breaking in."

It was Futaba. She was halfway down the stairs, and her eyes were puffy and red behind her thick glasses. "We were trying to save her, Sojiro. And we succeeded."

" _Save_  her? From what?"

They ignored him. "Goro gave me his phone," Yusuke said, holding it up.

"What does it say? Tell me!" Ann slapped the table in agitation.

"... he says to follow through with what we planned."

"There's only four of us! How are we going to do that?"

"We have to," Futaba mumbled. "It was my fault. I was the one who - I didn't listen, and now - "

"Futaba," said Boss. "Tell me what's going on, please."

"I'm sorry, Boss. We just don't have the time right now. Let's go."

"Are you for real? Are we doing this?"

"Yes," said Yusuke. "We are."

"Later, Sojiro." Futaba grabbed the duffel bag full of supplies, groaned when it nearly hit the floor. "Inari?"

"Of course."

"At least tell me where you're going! Your mother's going to be worried  _sick_  over you if you're not home soon."

"I know, Sojiro." Futaba scuffed her shoe. "But we've got people we worry about too, and we can't just  _not_ help them if they need us."

"You'll understand one day," said Ann.

"How will I when you kids won't tell me  _anything_?"

"Cuz it isn't safe for you to know. That's how it is sometimes."

"The hell it isn't. You're not pulling a line on me like that - "

"Goodbye, Sakura-san," said Yusuke. "We'll bring Goro home soon enough. We promise."

Boss' shoulders sagged. "You can't promise me something like that. Not when a kid like him's involved with people like them."

"Then we're gonna do it anyway," said Futaba. "Bye, Sojiro."

"Futaba - "

But they had already gone, and left him behind.

* * *

**Goro** : Stay the course with the plan.  
**Goro** : Morgana is still in danger.  
**Goro** : And I can talk myself out of anything.   
**Goro** : Don't be deceived by Nijima.  
**Goro** : Kurusu said she was one of the good ones.  
**Goro** : I may be able to use her to our advantage.  
**Goro** : Until then.  
**Goro** : Do your best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're all thinking. Jeez author ANOTHER breather chapter? What happened to the plot OH WAIT IT'S SAE!! Talk about a... ... ... blooming villain.
> 
> Yusuke finally makes his move. Unfortunately, it happens to have the worst timing of all time. Still, you know Akira wishes he was there just to make his counter-offer. Meanwhile, surrounded by two hot boys who want him, Goro's just ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Next time: With Goro and Makoto trapped with the popo and evil big sis, the remaining Thieves struggle to save Morgana and their own hides in a Palace they've never been in before, Akira drops a bombshell that may render the Phantom Thieves' justice entirely futile, and it just gets more complicated from thereon. Plus, they have to resolve all this before Futaba leaves for New York. IT'S NEW YORK OR BUST BABY!!
> 
> But in all seriousness, the next couple of chapters are going to be tough. Hold on, Thieves, you can do it!!


	15. Steal Okumura's heart I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro has the situation under control. Unfortunately, no one else in his life seems to agree.

**15\. Steal Okumura's heart I**

They took the train to Shibuya Station in dead silence.

Ryuji sat in his seat with his head in his hands while Ann fiddled with her pigtails endlessly, fingers twirling around her hair like cotton candy. Yusuke leaned against the wall with his eyes closed as if in meditation, duffel bag at his feet. And Futaba stared at the glossy black screen of her phone and tried desperately not to cry.

Akechi was an  _idiot_.

Why would he give himself up like that? It had been the six of them plus Sojiro against one prosecutor, and the woman would have left empty-handed if they'd stayed strong against her. Try as she might to threaten them, she couldn't do it on her own.

Or maybe she could. The look on Akechi's face when Nijima had brought up the idea of telling his school about him breaking into Mom's office had been the saddest thing Futaba had ever seen.

He had been  _smiling_.

He had looked shocked for a single second - then this fake smile as rough and crumbling and cracked as badly applied plaster caked itself onto his face, and without letting the rest of them get a word in he sold himself out and walked out of there with that prosecutor without once looking back.

Why did he have to be such a bonehead about  _everything?_

Looking at him Futaba could only ever feel helpless, because whatever path he was walking on, he didn't seem to have any idea that the rest of them were right behind him. Why didn't he ever look back? Was he afraid they would judge him if he did?

 _You don't have the right to make yourself a martyr_ , she thought, then gritted her teeth because he'd done it for her.

Once again, Futaba, you've truly outdone yourself.

She shouldn't have listened to Morgana. But the cat had been so mopey lately, and she thought if she could cheer him up on her own that Akechi would be proud of her.  _Good job, Futaba_ , he'd say in that wry deadpan voice of his, and mean it.

Now no one was going to congratulate her for anything.

Futaba put her phone away and took her glasses off, rubbing at her eyes with her sleeve.

A hand squeezed her shoulder. "Hey," Ann said in a small voice. "Have faith in them."

"Yeah." She sniffled. "If anyone can get themselves out of a tight situation it's those two nerds."

"I bet they've already got the whole police station at their beck and call," said Ryuji. His grin was weak though, barely even revealing his canines.

"Let's get the mission done," Yusuke said, "and we'll soon be together again."

Futaba nodded. "We'll do it," she said, promising herself more than anyone else.

And then they were at their stop.

* * *

Makoto went in first.

Goro waited outside in a chair with an officer standing guard over him while Makoto entered a small windowless room with only a table and two chairs inside. Sae sat in one of the chairs, a portfolio set out in front of her.

Makoto took the other, and sat down.

What would Dad even say if he saw them like this?

Who would he be disappointed in more?

"Sis," she began, because Sae hadn't said anything yet. "This is a big misunderstanding - "

"Makoto," said Sae. "It's fine. You don't have to lie anymore."

What?

Below the table, her hands clenched into fists. "I don't know what you mean by that."

"Just tell me what happened that day," said Sae. "You're not in any danger here. I'm not going to arrest you or anything ludicrous like that."

Makoto forced herself not to look at the door. "What about Go - Akechi?"

"What about him?" 

"You shouldn't threaten him either." Makoto sagged in her seat. "My God, sis, we're just witnesses. Why are you acting like this?"

"All I want," Sae repeated, "is for you to tell me, in your exact words, what happened at Isshiki Wakaba's workplace the day you were there. You can do that, can't you, Makoto?"

It was the same tone she took on when Makoto did poorly at a test she should excel at, or failed to keep the apartment in good order, or any number of things Sae detested.

"Yes, sis," she said glumly, and began.

"Our friend Futaba wanted to surprise her mother at her workplace to improve their relationship. They hadn't been getting along lately, so Futaba thought it could help. She... asked us to come along, since she had bentos prepared for Isshiki-san and her colleagues to eat - "

"Were they store-bought?"

"No," Makoto said. "Akechi made them."

"That must have been an ordeal." Sae looked down at her portfolio, though it was closed. What was in there - the photos of them or something else entirely? "The secretary told us you came in to surprise Isshiki for her birthday."

"We... lied. I'm sorry." Makoto bit her lip. "We didn't think she'd let us in otherwise."

"Entry via false pretences." Sae lifted her hand to her cheek. "You're aware of how this sounds, aren't you?"

"I know."

"Continue."

"She let us in, and we went up to Isshiki-san's floor. But her door was locked, and since we were trying to surprise her, we couldn't ask her to let us in. So Akechi picked the door open. We were only planning to decorate her office. That's all."

"Did he do it of his own volition?" Sae tapped a painted nail onto the table. When Makoto heisitated: "I have the footage, remember."

"No," she admitted. "Actually, I asked him to do it."

"You?" Sae lifted a brow. "That sounds ridiculous."

"It's true," she said, the lie seeping through the gap in her teeth like vile air. "I was already anxious about being there, so I thought - if we decorated Isshiki-san's office, then left, we could get it over quickly - "

"So you asked a classmate of yours to commit a crime to speed things up?" Sae interrupted. "That's completely unlike you."

"Yes, well..." She looked down. "There's a lot you don't know about me, sis."

"I'm not upset with you." Sae's voice softened. "Just... nothing right now makes you and your friends sound as if you had any good judgment that day."

"We're teenagers." Makoto shrugged. "Bad judgment is in our DNA."

"Not you," Sae said, and she wondered how her own family couldn't - didn't want to - get it.

"You broke in. And then what?"

"We were going to put a cake on Isshiki-san's desk," Makoto said. "But then she showed up, and - no surprise - she was angry. We... dropped the cake by accident, and Futaba and her mother got into an argument. She wanted us to leave, so we did."

"But not for long. Those two men came in soon after."

"We heard them argue with Isshiki-san." Makoto pursed her lips. "It sounded bad, so we turned back. It looked like the men were trying to take Isshiki-san somewhere, so we tried to stop them. Futaba got hurt. One of the men hit her."

"Then you ran with Isshiki up to the sixth floor," said Sae.

"Yes. We barricaded ourselves in a room and hid there until the men left."

"Here's what I don't get." Sae crossed her arms. "According to the surveillance data, the men tried to get into the room you were in, but they left after ten minutes. You didn't leave for two hours. What was going on in there?"

Makoto crossed her ankles so she wouldn't tap her feet on the floor in a nervous tic. "We were scared."

"Why didn't you call the cops, Makoto? Someone could have helped you."

"I... um..." Her mouth was dry. "We were scared."

"Scared?"

"Yes. Because we'd come in under... false pretences. As you said. " She looked away. "I didn't want to get my friends in trouble."

"And Isshiki too? Because she was in there with you, and it's hard to believe she would have been swayed by such an argument. She could have vouched for you, even."

"It was a tense situation. We were all hoping to forget about it after." Makoto swallowed. "Plus, we wanted to give Futaba room to talk with her mother. It seemed like the right time to do it."

"With five other people in a barricaded room and two violent thugs outside," Sae said incredulously. " _That_ seemed like the right time for a heart-to-heart?"

"I know it sounds ridiculous, sis," Makoto said. "But it's what happened. And if you ask Futaba or Isshiki-san herself, they'd tell you the same thing."

Sae sighed. "I'm sure they would, Makoto. Alright, you're good to go."

"Really?"

"Yes. Go on, bring Akechi in."

Makoto got up, then remembered. "Wait. How do you know those men used to work for Kaneshiro? How do you know it wasn't someone else?"

Sae lifted her gaze. "They told us when we interrogated them. Is there something you know that I don't?"

"No, not at all," Makoto said hurriedly. "I'll bring Akechi in right away. But please - "

"What, Makoto."

"Go easy on him. Please?"

"He's a witness too," Sae said. "I'll do what it takes to get the truth from him."

"Even if it means threatening to get him expelled?"

Sae said nothing. Makoto went on: "If you've looked into his file, then you know he doesn't have any family to take care of him. He used to live in an institution before he moved in with Sakura-san. Don't you see how cruel that is? You can't take someone's whole life away just because they're not cooperating with you."

"Is Akechi your friend, Makoto?" Sae said finally.

"He is," Makoto said. "And even if you don't trust him - I do."

"Very well. I'll hear what he has to say then."

"Thank you, sis!"

"Now go," Sae said. "I still have work to do."

* * *

"Here we go," Ann said hesitantly as they stood in the entrance plaza of Okumura Tower, a skip away from Central Street. "Futaba, would you do us the honours?"

Futaba lifted her phone up to her mouth, Nav App already active, and spoke into it with anticipation and dread: "Okumura Kunikazu. Okumura Tower. Outer space."

And like that, the Metaverse rippled into reality around them.

"Whoa!" Skull jolted. "Why are we in our costumes already?"

"We're a threat to the Palace ruler," murmured Fox. "Mona must have triggered enemies while he was here."

" _If_ he's still here." Panther looked around in curiosity at the ultra-futuristic moon base around them. "Oracle, is there any chance he might have left the Palace already?"

"Necronomicon, analysis," Futaba said, and got a reading back immediately. "No good. I can sense him somewhere nearby."

"At least he hasn't gotten too far."

"Come. Let us proceed with caution," Fox said, and so they stepped inside the Palace.

Inside was as far as Futaba had initially gotten with Morgana before he took off on her. "Are those robots?" Panther said as they entered a walkway overlooking a factory work floor. "What's the big guy saying to all the others?"

Futaba had heard the spiel before, and been sick to her stomach. "He's telling them to work or die," she said dully. "Look. One of them is being taken away now."

"What a piece of shit," snarled Skull. "So this Okumura guy even thinks of his own employees as machines he can trash when they're no longer good to him."

"He has become completely alienated from humanity," said Fox. "Nevertheless our current objective, we will have to come back and clear this Palace."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "Let's get going."

They soon entered a floor with a large metal door that wouldn't open no matter what. "Did  _Mona_ get through this?" Panter said with a frown.

"No, he's still here." Futaba scowled. "Damn it, where could he be? Stupid cat!" She kicked the door in anger.

"Stay calm, Oracle. We'll just retrace our steps."

"I know that, Inari! It's just - "

And then they heard it.

"DANGER, DANGER: INTRUDER ALERT."

"Hiya! I'll show you what's what!"

"Oh no," said Panther, and they all turned heel and ran.

"There!" Skull pointed down at the work floor. "Down below! He's gonna fight the big guy!"

"On his own? Ridiculous!" Fox grabbed the railing and flung himself over, jumping twenty feet with the grace of a crane. Had it been in reality he would have broken both his legs, but here it was effortless. Panther followed in a leap right after, and Skull in a cannonball jump that landed him on his feet without a hitch.

In the Metaverse, Futaba too could fly.

"Necronomicon, to me!" she demanded, and the great green spaceship came to being around her and carried her over the railing and above the others with only a chuckle in her mind. Through her screens she saw Mona properly for the first time that day since he'd fled. "Oh, Mona..."

He looked  _exhausted_.

"What? What are you guys doing here!" he said, backing away from the team as they took position around him.

"We came to save you," said Panther.

"Yeah, what the hell! Don't go running off into the Metaverse on your own."

"Shut up! I've been doing this on my own long before you guys even had Personas," Mona snapped. "And I can do this on my own too. Watch this!  _Garudyne!_ "

But nothing came out of Zorro, not even an honourary splutter of wind. He was out of juice.

"Damn it! I - here!" Mona threw a bomb ineffectually at the Shadow instead, doing paltry damage. "That was my last one! Crap! Umm - "

"Mona, please," said Fox. "We're all on your side, and we came to get you because we care about you."

Were they really going to talk while the enemy was still there, Futaba thought in despair.  _Come on, come on -_

"Then why isn't Crow here?" Mona demanded. "And Queen? Why'd they send the B-team to get me?"

"Ohohoho, we are  _not_  the B-team - "

"Mona, please. Why are you so upset with us?"

"Because I - damn it, I - "

"Enough!" Futaba yelled from overhead. "Finish the fight first,  _then_ argue!"

And slammed Active Support down from the heavens, shouting: "Go, go, go!"

With Mona recharged the Shadow went down, but in thrice as many turns as it would have taken with Crow in the party. His ability to switch Personas in a heartbeat was a skill none of them could mimic, and without him they were highly vulnerable, even with weakness-reducing accessories on. Futaba winced to see them get battered, even as they ultimately came out the victor.

"... look, guys," Mona said when the battle was done. "It's nice of you to come after me, but... I didn't need you. I could have gone and done it on my own."

"Like hell you could. You were gonna die if Oracle didn't save your ass - "

"Shut up! So what." Mona glared. "I know Oracle's better than me, Skull. You don't have to remind me."

"We're not, Mona." Panther tried to keep her voice soft. "But we do care. We came running all the way from the airport because we were afraid you were in real danger."

"Yeah, well..." The cat glowered. "Looks like not everyone got the invite to the party."

"That's not it," said Fox.

"Then what is? Tell me!"

"Akechi and Makoto are with the freaking police right now, Morgana!" Futaba couldn't hold it in any longer. "A prosecutor took them in for questioning because we all got caught on the cameras breaking into Mom's workplace, and Akechi gave himself up to get the head off our backs for us, alright? Now I don't know why you're upset since you won't tell us, and yeah it probably has something to do with Akechi because he keeps like a billion secrets just for fun, but come on! Aren't we all friends by now? Do you think we hate you or something? We want to help you, you just won't let us!" She ripped her goggles off and screamed.

" _Please_  tell us what's wrong, Mona," said Panther.

"You're a Phantom Thief too," said Skull grudgingly. "And... I'm sure a lot of things feel messed up in your mind right now. But we can fix it together, you know? That's why we're a team."

"Exactly, Skull," said Fox. "Mona - "

"... are they really in jail right now?" said Mona, looking uncertain.

"They're not in jail," said Futaba. "But they're being prodded with all kinds of questions, and if they let things slip about why Mom was nearly kidnapped or the Metaverse, then - "

"Senpai could get expelled. Or worse."

"... I don't want that." The cat stared at the floor. "I just... wanted to prove I could take on a Palace on my own. I keep... having these dreams lately, and I thought I could get some answers here. Like in Mementos."

"Hey," said Panther. "We're here for you. We want you to find answers too."

"Yeah, but... you guys already know who you are, you know? I always feel like I'm guessing, and I keep wanting to know because - because I don't have anything else in life to look forward to."

"You have us," Fox said.

Mona snorted. "Thanks, Fox, but sometimes it's not much."

"That's fine, then." The boy blinked.

"Is it," said Skull. "Really."

"It'll leave room for new experiences and memories to make. So yes." Fox smiled. "Mona, right now the best thing we could all do is return to Leblanc and wait for Goro and Makoto to come back to us."

"... okay," said Mona. "And I'm sorry. For making you all worry. You too, Futaba."

"Thanks," said Futaba, screwing her eyes shut as fresh tears stung. "Asshole."

* * *

"Ah," said Nijima as Goro walked in. "Now this is where things get interesting."

Goro smiled as he sat down in his chair. "I'm afraid you have the advantage of me, Nijima-san."

"Don't play coy, Akechi." She leaned forward in her seat. "Tell me what really happened."

"Futaba wanted to surprise her mother for her birthday," Goro said. "So she asked us to help her out - "

"Bullshit."

He kept his smile on. "I'm sorry?"

"Makoto already gave me the spiel," said Nijima. "But forgive me for not believing that was your true intentions that day. What were you  _really_ doing there?"

"Delivering bentos for Isshiki-san and her colleagues," said Goro.

She placed a finger on the edge of the portfolio on the table, and flipped it open. "Ah," she said, looking down on the first place. "Let's start here, shall we?"

It had Goro's photo. It was his personal file.

What did she mean to do with it?

"Akechi Goro," said Nijima, reading down the page. "Born on June 2, 1998 to a mother, Akechi Himeko, and no named father. She raised you on her own, correct?"

"Until I was five," Goro said.

"What happened to her?"

"Death approached her. More precisely," he added, "she hanged herself."

Nijima looked up from the file. "Excuse me?"

He hadn't stuttered. "She killed herself, Nijima-san," he said. "Don't make me repeat it."

"Very well." She continued. "You were raised in a series of foster homes after that, then brought to the Fuefuki Boys' Home when you were eight."

"Yes."

"Where it seems you accrued quite a list of bad habits early on in life." She flipped the page. "Fighting with other residents at your home. Petty theft from local stores. Frequent outbursts of anger. Here it says you were suspected of poisoning three other boys when you were eleven." She raised a brow. "Care to explain?"

"It was a misunderstanding," said Goro.

"Absurd." Her nostrils flared. "How do you justify behaviour such as that even now?"

"They deliberately trashed my bicycle to get a rise out of me."

"And it worked?"

"It was the one thing in life that made me happy. And they tore it apart for that same reason."

"So you believe attempted manslaughter a reasonable counter to destruction of small property." Niima stared. "You're fortunate the social workers at your place swept it under the rug. Are you aware of what could have happened to you otherwise?"

"... Nijima-san, I hope it's obvious I'm not the same boy I was back then," said Goro.

"Your recent actions suggest otherwise."

"Are people not allowed to change from time to time?" 

" _Do_  they?" said Nijima, unperturbed.

Goro looked down. "Perhaps to someone in your lofty position I will always be a delinquent, someone set for the wrong path in life and every good action of mine a momentary diversion from my true purpose. But where would I be if I believed the same thing?"

She crossed her arms. "Explain."

"I'm saying," said Goro, "that if bore the same damning opinion of myself as you - and most of society - hold about people like me, there would never be any reason for me to be a moral, law-abiding citizen at all."

"Apart from doing the right thing."

He shook his head. "Nijima-san, people don't do the right thing unless they believe it overwhelms all other values in the room. And very few people do the right thing if they know they'll still be punished for it."

"Ah. So a reward is what you want?"

"You say reward. I say necessity." He stretched out his fingers in his lap, flexed them for feeling. "Trying to get me expelled because I won't tell you exactly what you want to hear... what is  _your_ purpose there? Do you think that making it impossible for me to finish my education will make a better person? If I'm unable to get a proper job as a result? I did turn eighteen in June, which means the institution I lived in no longer has an obligation to me. Is that where you want me to be in the end?"

"I'm afraid that's irrelevant to the situation."

"So is this entire conversation." Goro looked away. "Nijima-san. Be honest with your intentions here, and I'll do the same."

"You'll promise not to lie to me? Is that it?" said Nijima, a rare thread of potential in her cool manner. "How can I trust you to follow through?"

_How could anyone?_

"How about this then. Do you believe Makoto is a bad judge of character?"

"You're going to bring her up? Fine." The woman frowned. "Until I looked at the camera footage, I never thought so. She's always been an upright person."

Right. "What about Kurusu?"

"What?"

"The boy wonder," said Goro. "He comes to Leblanc often, and we've become friendly after a fashion. Do you think he's unreliable when it comes to assessing people?"

Nijima scoffed. "Kurusu's a ridiculous figure, and biased against my own line of work. I have no reason to believe he has a serious opinion about anything."

"But you work with him," Goro said. "He's helping you on the Kaneshiro case now... and the Madarame one too, wasn't he? Before you were taken off the case?"

"Did Kurusu tell you that?" said Nijima, her knuckles white.

"It was an educated guess." He stared at his hands. "Forgive me, but I don't think you would let him have access to your work if you truly thought so little of him."

"No," said she. "I suppose I couldn't.

"Very well," she added. "Would you like anyone else to vouch for your present character?"

"Yes," said Goro. "But these two you know personally. You know what they're like already."

"And through their opinion of you, whether I should believe you." Nijima set her shoulders straight, in position again. "Fair enough.

"Now," she added, closing the file on him, "tell me what happened that day, and leave nothing out."

"Yes, ma'am," Goro said.

* * *

"Let's go home," said Futaba, Mona in her arms as Necronomicon floated upward and out of the way. The Thieves clambered up onto the walkway right after, and Futaba let him down gently on his feet.

"This place gives me the creeps," said Panther. "I know they're just cognitions, but somehow seeing people break down like actual machines is so off-putting. And the CEO doesn't even care."

"Okumura is a wealthy man," said Fox. "And more often than not, great fortune is seldom accumulated by moral means."

"Yeah. Like treating his people like shit," Skull grumbled. "Can't wait to beat the sense back into him later."

Futaba didn't care. "I just hope Akechi and Makoto are okay," she said. "I - "

Necronomicon  _pinged_.

"Something wrong, Oracle?"

"I..." She furrowed her brows. "Hold on."

It pinged again, and this time there was no mistaking the signal.

"There's someone else here," Futaba said. "Another human."

"What?" Fox narrowed his eyes. "Could it be?"

Panther's whip was out again. "The room with the lock. That's the only other place we went to."

"Guys, if it's the Warden, I don't think we can take him on right now."

"Not without Crow," said Mona. "But - "

"It's fine." Futaba held up a Goho-M in between her fingers. "Even if all we do is confirm that he's here, it's better than nothing. At least we'll know who to watch out for."

And so, they crept forth in caution.

The door lock was open, and in the distance Shadows in the form of machines were blurring past hallways. "Holy shit," said Skull. "What do we do now?"

"Our mission was to retrieve Mona. We've accomplished that." Fox's hand gripped the sheath of his sword. "We should come back when fully prepared. Until then - "

"Shh!" Panther pressed a finger to her lips. "Did any of you just hear that?"

They all shut up. Necronomicon spread its influence, and Futaba whipped around to face a corner shelf stacked high with boxes. "There! Come out, asshole!"

"It's go time." Despite his nerves, Skull's fists were crackling. "Hey, we  _know_ you're here!"

"On guard," said Fox, advancing. "You have nowhere left to go, villain!"

One of the boxes shifted.

Then another. Futaba's breath was in her throat. Who could it be, who could it be -

And out from behind the boxes came out a trembling girl in a pink sweater and a Shujin uniform.

" _What_." Futaba said. "You're not the Warden."

"Okumura-senpai?" Panther ripped her mask off in shock. "What are  _you_ doing here?"

"Takamaki-san? Is that you?"

"It's a false alarm, guys." Skull took his mask off, and Fox followed.

"Sakamoto-kun! Why are you in a costume?" Okumura widened her eyes. "Wait. You were the ones fighting that robot down below?"

"You saw that, senpai?" For some reason Skull looked weirdly pleased. "What did you think? Were we cool?"

"Um, well - "

"We shouldn't dally," said Fox. "The Warden may still be present."

"Nah." Futaba gave him a thumbs-down. "Just her."

"We need to get out of here," Mona said. "Let's go back."

"Is that a talking cat?" Okumura said.

"That's Mona, senpai! I mean, Morgana. Don't worry, he's one of us."

"One of you...?" She gave them all a onceover. "It couldn't be."

"Yeah, we're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts blah blah blah," said Futaba. "Now can we leave this stupid Palace and go home already?"

* * *

"Tell me," said Goro. "Are you aware of a politician named Shido Masayoshi?"

Across the table, Nijima snorted. "Am I  _aware_ of the man who's likely to be our newest Prime Minister?"

"Yes," said Goro, and felt the air squeeze out of his lungs. "What a crime it would be for this country if he was elected, don't you think?"

"Pray, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean..." He crossed his legs. "He's the one who sent those thugs after Isshiki-san that day."

The knives came out in a flash. "Makoto said nothing about that."

"Did you ask her?" Goro blinked. "They and Isshiki-san were arguing about something, surely."

"You overheard?"

"I did," he said, and told her.

"All you have is hearsay. There's nothing tying them to Shido - "

"What's tying them to Kaneshiro, then?"

"Their confession."

"Which is reliable?"

"If theirs isn't, yours isn't either," said Nijima. "You both have a great deal to lose. So which is it?"

Goro leaned back in his chair and thought about it. "Perhaps it's both," he offered.

"Kaneshiro  _and_ Shido? Don't be ridiculous."

He closed his eyes. "But why would some two-bit yakuza go after a government scientist then? They didn't just try to kidnap her - when they failed, they destroyed her office. They took her computer, her hard drives, her files. What would Kaneshiro - who's now in holding - have to gain from something like that? Why would anyone in the yakuza possibly care about some loony scientific theory of all things?"

"So you think Shido hired them," Nijma said flatly, fingers laced together. "Is that any more likely?"

"In all her life Isshiki Wakaba's only had one enemy," Goro said. "It's true I don't have proof, but I believe it was him."

After a long moment, the prosecutor sighed.

"You and I both know it's not that easy. Someone like Shido won't be taken down by speculation alone."

"Ah. So you're thinking about it already?"

"Don't be absurd," she snapped. "I'm saying the burden of proof needed is far greater than a mere teenager could understand. Even opening an investigation on him on this alone would - "

"What if I could get you proof?" said Goro.

"Proof," Nijima repeated. "How."

"I could get those two men to talk for you."

She laughed. "They're already talking."

"They've told you they're from Kaneshiro. Anything else?"

After a grudging minute, she said, "No. But if they're not willing to talk to me, they'll have no time for you."

"I have no intention of interrogating them," Goro said. "That's still your purview. I merely want their names."

She frowned. "And what do you think you'll get out of that alone?"

"I... know a hacker."

"Really." She narrowed her eyes. "You realize, of course, that this doesn't improve your credibility at all in my eyes."

"No," said Goro. "But you trusted Kurusu once. Please, allow me the same favour."

"Kurusu!  _Kurusu_ was the most ludicrous gamble of my career," said Nijima.

"But it paid off, didn't it?"

" _He_ didn't have anything on his record."

"That can't be helped. I was a child then."

"And what are you now?"

"I'm..." He smiled. "A concerned citizen."

"This is absurd," Nijima said. "I have no reason to trust you. You're a mere teenager, how could you possibly help me in something like this?"

 _Because I'm the leader of the Phantom Thieves,_ Goro thought.

"Because you know it doesn't make sense either," he said. "And you want to win your case."

Nijima Sae closed her eyes, and appeared to meditate.

"I'll allow it," she murmured. "But only because Makoto and Kurusu know your character and for whatever reason have deemed you trustworthy. I'll rely on their judgment for now. Until I get a better view of you myself."

"Thank you, Nijima-san," said Goro.

"Don't be so friendly just yet." She got up. "This isn't the end. I'll still have to question your friends, and whatever you have planned  _cannot_  be illegal or I'll throw you in jail myself."

"Understood."

"I'll see you again a week from now. And I expect results or we'll be revisiting this conversation once more."

"Yes, ma'am."

"But for now," she said, and her voice softened as she turned to face the door. "You're free to go."

* * *

Okumura Haru was shaken, and it didn't get any better when the Metaverse went back to reality and they were in the plaza once again. "Ugh," she said, sinking to her knees. "Why does it feel like this?"

"Senpai! Are you alright?!" Ann hurried over and rubbed her shoulders. "Hey. Hey. It's okay."

Okumura stared up at the tower behind them. It was evening already. "That wasn't a dream, was it? Oh, Morgana - you're a cat again."

"That's me," Morgana said dully. Okumura petted him on the head, and he brushed face against her knees.

"What we experienced earlier," said Yusuke, "was the manifestation of your father's distorted desires made flesh."

 _Or metal,_  Futaba thought.

"Oh." Okumura pressed her palms against her temples as Ann helped her up. "That... makes sense, I think. The robots did have Big Bang Burger logos on them."

"Look," said Ryuji. "We kind of have to jet right now since we have more friends in trouble. But we can explain everything to you tomorrow after school. It'll make sense when all of us are here, I swear."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "Sorry to cut things short here, but we're not the best at explaining things on our own. Akechi always did it best, and - "

"Akechi-kun's involved?" Okumura said, getting up. " _He's_  one of you too?"

Oh yeah. She'd forgotten they were friends.

"And Makoto. Don't forget about her," Morgana said, padding to Futaba's side. She scooped him up.

"Cheer up, goober," she mumbled, and the cat lay his head down against her arm.

"The least we can do is take you home," said Yusuke. "Where is your address?"

Okumura shook her head. "I live right here."

"What, in an office building?"

"At the penthouse, with Father." She bit her lip. "I... never thought his inner self was so heartless. He really thinks of everyone at Okumura Foods like that? Including me?"

"It's terrible," said Ann. "But it's also why we do what we do. We can change his heart so he won't hurt people like that anymore."

"You can? Oh, thank you! Maybe then - " Okumura stopped, flush bright on her face. "I'm so sorry. You all have somewhere to go, don't you?"

"Sorry," said Futaba. "But in your defense, Akechi will probably say some shit like 'come with us, Okumura-san! It'll be so much better if you beat the crap out of your father yourself, tee hee!' ... or something like that."

"He wouldn't say the word crap," said Ryuji. "Come on."

"He did use the F-word with me back in Isshiki-san's Palace," said Yusuke.

"You're shitting me."

"Shut up already!" Ann glared. "We'll see you tomorrow, senpai. Get home safe."

"Yes. Of course." Okumura bowed. "Have a good evening."

She turned on unsteady feet, and they watched her until she entered the building and could no longer be seen.

"I guess that's that, then," said Ryuji.

"Luckily it wasn't as bad as we thought." Ann sighed. "You really did give us a scare, Morgana."

"I know." The cat buried his face further into Futaba's embrace. "Sorry."

"Eh. I think our little soot sprite's had enough adventure for one day," she said. "Yusuke, has Akechi called you back yet? Maybe he and Makoto are out already."

"I have his phone, unfortunately," Yusuke said, taking it out. He frowned. "Five missed calls."

"From Sojiro?"

"No." Yusuke's gaze slid upward to meet her eyes. "From Kurusu Akira."

And as if the devil's name itself had been spoken aloud, the screen of Akechi's phone lit up.

"It's him," said Yusuke, and pressed the answer button.

* * *

"Goro!" Makoto flung arms around him the minute he stepped out. "Thank goodness you're fine. Was sis too hard on you?"

Goro closed arms around her waist awkwardly. "No, no. Actually, I think it turned out pretty well."

"If you say so," said Nijima, leaning by the doorway behind them.

"Oh!" Makoto disengaged at once. "Sorry, I didn't realize - "

"It's fine. You two are friends, after all." Nijima looked... warmer now. Less on guard. It made Goro wonder.

"Well," she said, puncturing their good mood right after. "You're not off the hook yet. I'll still have to question the rest of your friends. Hopefully their stories will verify yours, or we'll be in trouble. Mostly you." She smiled.

"Of course." Makoto smoothed over her skirt, all propriety again.

"It's just procedure," Nijima said. "I hope you understand I mean nothing by it."

"Not at all," Goro agreed. "Just business."

"Good. I'll contact you all individually over the next few days, but since you seem quite close there's one of you I'd like to get in touch with as soon as possible."

"And that would be..."

"Kitagawa," said Nijima. "I would have gotten him today, but somehow it seemed vulgar to take in a boy with no guardian for questioning, considering what happened today."

... really. What about Goro then.

"Why Yusuke?" said Makoto. "Wait, are you going to question him over the Madarame case? You're not even on it anymore, sis - "

"Makoto, it's not about that," Nijima interrupted, then stopped. "Wait. Do you not even know?"

"Know what?" said Goro.

"That's right." Nijima's shoulders sagged. "You just came back from your school trip today. All of you. God, that boy - "

"Sis! Tell us what's wrong," said Makoto. "Why do you need to talk to Yusuke right away?"

* * *

Yusuke said into the phone, "Hello?"

 _Unbelievable_. "Put him on speaker phone," Futaba demanded. "What does he want!"

"A moment," Yusuke said, then did so. "Yes, Kurusu-san, what do you want?"

"This isn't Akechi," the boy's distorted voice said. "Who am I talking to?"

"Kitagawa," said Yusuke.

"And me," said Futaba. "Isshiki, first year. What do you want with Akechi?"

"That's private. Where is he?"

"Goro's indisposed of at moment."

"Yeah," Ryuji said. "A freaking prosecutor woman came to Leblanc and took him and Makoto in for questioning - "

"What?" Heavy breathing. "A woman? You don't mean Sae-san?"

"As in,  _Nijima_  Sae," Futaba said. "You  _know_  her, private eye? Because they're probably being interrogated like hell right now."

"That's messed up. Why would she take them in - "

"We know, dude," said Ryuji. "So tell us what you wanna tell him already, and we'll tell him when we get him back later."

A heavy sigh. "I don't want Kitagawa to hear this."

"I beg your pardon," Yusuke said coldly.

"It's not like that. It's - "

"Just tell us already," said Ann. "Please."

* * *

"Earlier this morning," said Nijima Sae, "Madarame Ichiryusai committed suicide in holding. I'm sorry."

* * *

"Madarame was found dead in his cell today," said Kurusu. "And I think he was murdered."

* * *

Goro took the train ride back to Yongen in silence.

He didn't think, not even as the lights of the city passed over his eyes in the growing dark of night. The inside of his mouth was raw from picking at the skin there with his teeth. So were his nails.

The train stopped. People got off. It started moving again.

He didn't get it. But then again, this wasn't his game to get.

All the Phantom Thieves did was change the hearts of villains so they'd turn themselves into the law and confess their crimes.

What business was it of theirs what happened to such people after?

Madarame, dead.

Why?

He didn't know. At this point, would he ever?

The train stopped. People got off. It started moving again.

It was his stop. Oh.

He switched the next station over with lumbering feet, stayed on his feet so he wouldn't forget again.

The light in Leblanc was still on. Goro pushed through - the bell rang - and said, "Good evening."

The booths were full with the Thieves save for Makoto, who had gone home with her sister, all looking at him anxiously. Behind the counter stood Boss, and on the stool facing him, a silent Isshiki Wakaba.

"Come in, kid," said Boss. "Let's talk."

* * *

It was an hour's worth of questions and nearly two dozen cups of coffee before he was even allowed to breathe. "I'm fine," Goro said twenty times over before anyone would believe him. "Really, no one did anything to me. Nijima-san didn't even question me that much."

"Just say the word," said Futaba, "and I will destroy her."

"You're not doing that, Futaba," said Isshiki-san.

"Mom! But - "

"I'll get those men to have a change of heart in Mementos and confess," said Goro. "And then - "

"Why?" said Ryuji. "Why do you want to help her, man? She threatened to get you expelled - she even bullied Makoto into going along with her BS. We shouldn't lift a  _finger_ to save her ass."

"It's either that or she stays on our case," said Ann. "I hate to say it, but I think Senpai's right on this."

"When is he not?" Futaba grumbled. "Fine. I'm just - just glad you're okay."

"It would have been much worse if she'd thought you a suspect," said Isshiki-san. "Akechi-kun..."

"Yes?"

"This is about Shido, isn't it?"

Everyone's eyes were on him. "Yes," Goro admitted. "I told Nijima-san about him to get her to follow his scent instead. Whether it worked, I - "

"Stop," said Isshiki-san.

"I'm sorry?"

"You don't know what you're doing here," she said. "None of you. I've despised Shido for years, and you've seen how far that's taken me. He tried to have me killed, for God's sake. I know what's at stake. You - your Thieves work is valuable, yes, but you're stepping into a landmine here." She shook her head. "Stay out of this."

"You shouldn't be messing around with this stuff to begin with!" said Boss. "All this nonsense about the Metaverse - about changing hearts - nearly getting arrested - I didn't sign up for this when I took you in."

"Boss - " Goro stopped. The man's glasses were misting up.

Was he responsible for this too?

"Sakura-san," he said eventually. "I'm sorry."

"God damn it. I need a smoke."

"Sojiro," said Isshiki-san. "Wait - "

The bell rung.

"Great," said Futaba. "Now  _everyone's_ pissed."

Morgana padded over to Goro, jumped up on the stool next to his. "It's my fault," he said. "If I hadn't run - "

"No, no." Goro shook his head, reached across to stroke Morgana's fur. "Nijima-san was already waiting for us. You were just... frustrated, I guess, and - " He swallowed. "I suppose it's time to be honest now."

"What is it, senpai?" Ann said.

"Shi - Shido Masayoshi is my father," Goro said. "There. I said it."

In the silence of the Velvet Room, a pin dropped.

"No wonder." Isshiki Wakaba closed her eyes and turned away from him. "No wonder, then, that you're like this."

"And," said Goro. "He has a Palace."

* * *

Ann hugged him before she left, even patted his head like he was a child. "We're going to fix this," she said, as if the situation was fixable.

"Get some sleep," said Ryuji. "We'll talk more tomorrow, yeah?"

"Right." Goro smiled. "Thank you for being here, Ryuji."

"... did you think I wouldn't?" the boy said. "You seriously need to trust me more."

"Of course. See you."

Futaba came up and punched him lightly on the arm. "Damn it, Akechi, but you deserve better. To think you'd have a piece of shit like him for a dad - "

"He's not my father," Goro said. "Just... the man my mother was with when she had me."

"Yeah," the girl said. "Yeah, I get it. Come on, Mom."

The bell rung once, twice, thrice.

"I'll see you at home," said Morgana.

"Don't go too far."

"I won't. Not this time." The cat nuzzled his hand. "I guess we have a lot to talk about later."

"We do," Goro agreed, and opened the door for him.

Leaving only him, and Yusuke.

* * *

He hadn't said a single thing this whole time, hunched over in his seat far from everyone else, and when Goro approached he wondered if there was anything he could say to make it better.

Fortunately, with him fate never left it to chance. In a voice as thin as rice paper, Yusuke said, "I'm sorry about your father, Goro."

Goro sat down beside him. "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. How are you doing?"

"No part of me should be feeling like this," said Yusuke, and when he lifted his head his face was stricken with tears.

My God. "Come here," said Goro, opening his arms. "It's not him. You're not mourning him. He never deserved you."

Yusuke gripped at his shirt with bitter fingers, seeped salt into his collar. "Wha - what am I weeping for then?"

"Yourself," Goro said, and all his mouth was ash. "The relationship you thought you had with him. Your own memories. Things like that churn up when someone's gone because - because we want to reconcile ourselves with who they were in life so the thought of them stops hurting us." He stroked the boy's hair. "It's not him, Yusuke. It was never him you were mourning for."

It wasn't her, either.

"I'm sorry." Yusuke wiped at his eyes, his face red and splotchy. "I shouldn't - shouldn't - "

"Go right ahead. I cried like a child in front of you before, remember? I'm just returning the favour."

"This is so much more than that - " Yusuke began, but his eyes were full again, and Goro shushed him.

"Don't ever be ashamed," he said, "of feeling like the human being you are."

The bell rung once, once, and Boss came back into the cafe, and saw.

Goro bowed his head in apology, and closed his eyes.

* * *

"I'm sorry," he said later, Yusuke asleep on the futon in the spare room of the house with Morgana nestled at his side. "For keeping all this from you."

"If Wakaba hadn't told me," the man said. "I don't think you ever would. So take that apology and shove it somewhere no one else can see."

Goro's hands were cold together, as was his heart. "Do you want me to go, then?"

"Where would you go?" Boss barked. "Who'd even take you in?"

"I don't know," Goro said. "But I wouldn't bother you any longer."

"That's not - damn it, that's not what I want." The man groaned. "Kid, do you know why I took you in the beginning?"

"No, sir. I don't."

"I never wanted a kid." Boss looked miserable. "Hell, Wakaba's been the only woman for me if she wanted and I figured her and Futaba were as good as I was ever going to get. I didn't want to complicate things by screwing up. I retired from my old job and started Leblanc, and I was going to be the most boring man alive if it meant being able to care for the people I loved. And then some lady from an orphanage comes in one day from the boonies and tells she's looking for someone to take in a boy of hers for the year, who's smart as hell but awkward and doesn't really understand people and I thought I could give it a try. If I could make it work with someone like you, then I sure as hell could make it work with Futaba in the house, and - "

"I was the prototype, then," said Goro.

"You weren't," Boss said. "You were just someone I thought I could take care of better than this."

Oh.

"You couldn't have stopped any of it," he found himself saying. "My powers came to me in a dream. I was chosen for this."

"Kid, not this again - "

"It's the truth," Goro said. "Someone out there gave me this gift, and I used it. Now  _why_ they did I have no idea personally, but I do know it's changed people's lives for the better. My friends, and the people in Mementos, and Isshiki-san."

"That day," said Boss. "You went to change her heart. With your friends."

"Yes," said Goro. "We didn't - ultimately. But Isshiki-san came into the Metaverse with us, and saw how she'd been hurting Futaba all these years. She promised us she'd change herself for the better, so we didn't have to."

"Good grief. You should hear yourself right now."

"We're not going to stop," Goro said. "I'm sorry, Boss, but this - this is important to me."

"Being a Phantom Thief." He nodded. "Changing hearts. Saving lives.

"I'm not saying I don't get it," said Boss. "But you have so much to lose if things go wrong. Forget that prosecutor. If a man like Shido finds out his son is the leader of the Phantom Thieves - "

"We'll steal his heart before he finds out," Goro said.

"It's that easy for you then, huh?" Boss said, and sank into his chair. "Nothing else matters to you?"

"No," Goro said. "It doesn't."

* * *

The morning after breakfast, Yusuke bowed. "Thank you for your hospitality, Goro."

"Will you be alright today?" Goro asked as he took off his apron. "It's your turn with Nijima-san."

"I have my story. I'll be fine." Remnants of an irritated flush around the boy's eyes remained - but looked to be fading already. Good.

"If you say so," said Goro. "Just know that I'm here for you."

"You always are," said Yusuke.

* * *

 **Goro** : Good morning.  
**Kurusu** : Akechi.  
**Kurusu** : I heard from your friends yesterday.  
**Kurusu** : How are you?  
**Goro** : I'm good, actually.  
**Goro** : Thank you for your concern.  
**Kurusu** : I want to see you.  
**Kurusu** : Can I?  
**Goro** : I have something right after school.  
**Goro** : Come to Leblanc in the evening.  
**Kurusu** : I will.  
**Kurusu** : And I'm sorry.  
**Goro** : What for?  
**Kurusu** : The interrogation.  
**Kurusu** : You shouldn't have been there.  
**Goro** : Nijima-san didn't do anything.  
**Kurusu** : I know but  
**Goro** : Are you worried about me?  
**Kurusu** : Isn't it obvious by now.  
**Kurusu** : I almost had a heart attack when I found out.  
**Goro** : Kurusu...  
**Goro** : Thank you.  
**Goro** : I'm happy you care about me.  
**Goro** : Truly.  
**Goro** : But I'll be fine.  
**Goro** : I always am.  
**Kurusu** : You can't say that.  
**Goro** : I’m saying it right now.  
**Goro** : See you later, Kurusu.  
**Kurusu** : Stay safe.

* * *

"Okumura-san." Goro approached the girl's desk at the back of the classroom before homeroom started, and smiled. "There you are."

"Akechi-kun!" She nearly dropped her phone. "Good morning. Are you here for what happened yesterday?"

"I am."

"I'm glad you're here, then." She swallowed. "Because - look here. This appeared on my phone last night, and I think it's related to you and your friends." She held out her phone towards Goro to show the Nav App, red and black and baleful as it stared up at him.

"Please," said Okumura Haru. "What does this mean?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez I don't know what you were all worried about in the last chapter ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Goro's fine, y'all! Btw who's Makoto?
> 
> So much awkward hugging in this chapter. I was even going to put in Akira running into Leblanc and hugging Goro, but the chapter was getting long in the tooth. It'll have to wait for now, but don't worry you poor starved Shuake shippers, things will finally start moving along soon! /says for the tenth time orz
> 
> So... ... ... Madarame's dead now. The whydunnit's become a whodunnit. 
> 
> Next time: the Thieves multitask between trawling Okumura's Palace, battling off Sae's suspicions and trying to determine who killed Madarame and why. Plus, Akira finally makes proper acquaintance with the team + Goro gives him his souvenir from Hawaii. Not that those things have anything to do with each other. And all this before Futaba leaves for New York smh.


	16. Steal Okumura's heart II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro talks; Goro is briefly vulnerable; Goro schemes. In other words: a normal day for our troublesome trickster.

**16\. Steal Okumura's heart II**

**Are the Phantom Thieves just? Y/N**

**72.5% YES**

_what the fuck! does anyone want to explain what just happened yesterday_

_madarame took the coward's way out. live it up in hell, bitch_

_He said he was willing to cooperate with the police and do what it took to make up for his crimes. What happened to THAT???_

_Criminals are cowards, end of story._

_My heart breaks for all his former pupils. Not only will their abuser never be brought to justice now, but the media is going to tear their lives apart._

_God and you know that if they don't say the right thing about Madarame's suicide people are going to write them off entirely._

_What CAN they say?? They can't say they're happy OR sad that he's dead without having their every pore overanalyzed._

_At least they're all adults now who can choose to say no comment._

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_what the fuck is wrong with you. do NOT try to approach kitagawa in school for "commentary" or whatever bullshit you just made up to sound better. you're not a fucking journalist_

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_**MOD WARNING:** I can't believe I have to say this, but none of us here are media professionals. Do not contact any of Madarame's former apprentices for a "scoop" or even your own curiosity. Any and all suggestions posted on the site will be deleted and the user permanently banned. Furthermore, if we deem you an immediate danger we WILL call the police._

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_i know it's kinda awful, but am i the only one that's glad he's gone? good riddance imo_

_nah. fuck him to the ends of the earth_

_He should have spent the rest of his life in prison. Now he's gone just like that and left everyone he hurt without hope for atonement or answers._

_You can't get answers from people like him. Even in his public apology he didn't seem to know anything about "why" he was doing it apart from his own greed. It was honestly disgusting._

_Agreed. Awful as Madarame was, the idea that victims can get "closure" from their abuser if they just ask the right questions isn't something we should be trying to celebrate. It just doesn't work out that way._

_The Phantom Thieves changed Madarame's heart, but they couldn't change everything about him._

_Do you think the Thieves will publicly respond to this? Madarame killing himself before he could be sentenced properly spits on their entire way of justice._

_They're a vigilante group. They don't have any control over what happens inside the judicial system, much as we'd like._

_Madarame killing himself now just doesn't make any sense. What if he was murdered by someone on the inside?_

_like who jackass_

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_Hi @ conspiracy theorists, please take your speculation off the site and into a dumpster where they belong. Thank you don't @ me._

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_The Thieves HAVE to say something about this. It would be insane if they didn't._

_They're not going to and you know it. I mean, Oracle may be a showoff but as far as we know they don't have a PR department._

_True, or their calling cards would actually sound coherent half the time._

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_So... what happens now?_

* * *

"Thank you for being here with me today, Kitagawa-kun," said Nijima Sae from across the table in the interrogation room.

"It... is my pleasure," Yusuke said with great difficulty, and the woman's eyes crinkled as she smiled.

"You don't mean that."

"No," he said, and thought of Sensei, and Goro, and the business card he had pressed into Yusuke's hands a week ago. "But I find myself here nonetheless."

* * *

"So," said Goro, reviewing what Okumura had just told him and the Thieves as they all (save for Yusuke and Makoto, his escort for the day) clustered around the table in Leblanc's attic after school. "You were driven home from the airport yesterday."

"I did take a detour to the Big Bang Burger on Central Street," she admitted, fingers laced together. "I - I missed the coffee."

A fresh steaming cup of Boss' Brazilian Bourbon sat untouched in front of her right now, which struck Goro as a minor war crime. "Right," he said. "Which explains why you were in the plaza's vicinity when Futaba and company activated the Nav App. You didn't say anything to them?"

Okumura frowned. "All I knew next was that I was in this strange moon base - "

"The Metaverse," Futaba said, crouched on a nearby chair with her laptop balanced precariously on her knees.

"Yes! And everyone was suddenly in those costumes and masks. I couldn't have known it was all of you."

"No one blames you for not saying anything to us, senpai," said Ann. "Plus, we did take off right after."

"Thank you, Takamaki-san," Okumura said in relief. "I didn't know that I could go back to the real world on my own, so I went inside too. After a few minutes of panicking, of course. I couldn't figure out why my phone wasn't working or what all those machines were. Or why Okumura Tower had suddenly become a factory."

She lifted a hand up to brush her cotton-fluff hair away from her face, and a gasp of her perfume slipped Goro's way - a hint of lavender, light and delicate and feminine. _Like her,_ he thought, but then added, _don't be so juvenile._

"Somehow you managed to open the biometric lock on your own," he said. "Whereas the others couldn't. What does that mean?"

"It must be because the Palace recognized her as a fellow Okumura," said Morgana. When they looked at him, he bowed his head. "I... tried to get through on my own a dozen times. It didn't work."

"I guess that explains why you went a level down to fight Shadows," said Ryuji. "But dude, how long did you think you'd last on your own like that?"

"Mona did well though!" Ann said, petting the cat on the back. "I mean, it was hard for the four of us plus Futaba to beat down the red guy."

"Yeah, turns out this team actually needs you, Akechi," Futaba muttered.

"As always, thank you for the vote of confidence, Futaba," Goro said. "Okumura-san, do you have any questions for us?"

"I... I'm not sure," the girl said. "This is all so much to take in. Just yesterday I thought all that was going to happen to me was a long bath and going to bed early. Now I know that that half my peers are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and my father's their next target."

"Sorry you had to find out like this," Ann said. "But at least you have the Nav App now?"

"About that," Ryuji drawled, turning eyes to Goro. "Does that mean she's part of the team or what?"

"I beg your pardon?" Okumura looked intrigued.

"Pretty much on every mission we have civilians tagging along before they manifest Personas," said Futaba, saving him the trouble of explaining. "I tagged along on Mom's Palace and got Necronomicon during the final showdown. Makoto got Johanna in Kaneshiro's Palace, and Yusuke in Madarame's blah blah blah. It's Personas all the way down."

"Oh..." Okumura looked thoughtful. "Well, I don't know if you'd have me, but - "

"It's not that easy," Goro said. "Personas don't come out of you just because you ask for one." He sighed. "When I got Robin Hood, it was because the Shadow Kamoshida was about to have Ryuji killed by his guards."

"Thanks for reminding me," Ryuji said. "As if I didn't hate that asshole enough."

"And I had to make the choice to either run and save myself, or stay and defend him," Goro continued. "And it wasn't an easy choice. I wanted to run."

"So why didn't you?" said Morgana.

Goro swallowed. "I was going to, actually."

"Oh," said Ryuji.

"I made the choice to leave," Goro said. "And then Robin Hood told me not to be a coward - told me to watch you be executed if I was going to leave you to die. I looked, then - and I couldn't move away."

"You levelled up," said Futaba, sounding impressed.

Goro gave her a wry smile. "It's nothing so special. I wasn't even thinking when I decided I couldn't let it happen. I was just... incredibly angry at the injustice of it all. I still wanted to run - but I couldn't give someone like Kamoshida the satisfaction of having one better over me. And when I let that anger flow over me and no longer _cared_ about anything else but stopping that scene right away, _that_ was when Robin Hood came to me. Sounds perverse, doesn't it?"

"Nah," said Ryuji. "I get it. It was the same for me and Captain Kidd. I was just... sick and tired of being the one who couldn't fight. Kamoshida insulting me and telling me I was useless pissed the hell out of me. 'Cause he was _right_. I _was_ useless then. But I sure as hell wasn't going to admit it to a freak like him. What about you, Ann?"

"Huh? Me?" Ann said, surprised. "Well, for me it was when Kamoshida threatened to expel Senpai and Ryuji for getting in his way. I couldn't let them face him in his Palace all alone. And then I heard Carmen's voice in my head, and she just went and told me to tear all his limbs off and beat him like a drum!"

"Messed up," said Ryuji. "But awesome. I still wanna laugh at the look on Kamoshida's face when you stole that Shadow's sword and nearly gutted him like a fish."

"I wanted so," said Ann. " _So badly_."

"You're heavy metal, Panther," Futaba said, and Ann glittered.

"Thanks!"

"We can't speak for Yusuke or Makoto," said Goro. "But I'll warrant their transformations were equally formative. Futaba?"

"Me?" She closed her laptop and chewed her lip. "I don't know if it was anger as much as _frustration_. You guys were getting walloped by a representation of my Mom for God's sake, and I was standing there like a dumbass watching it all happen with my jaw open. I just couldn't stand the thought of being useless any longer - to you guys, or Mom, or everyone else I've taken advantage of over the years. Hell, Necronomicon even made fun of me for it! I had to tell it to shut up and that I wasn't going to be a burden anymore for it to become my Persona."

"Wow," said Ann. "All our Personas have such different personalities."

"Kidd's always roasting me in battle whenever I mess up," Ryuji groaned. "It blows."

"Thanks, back to me," Futaba said.

"Sorry."

"Cool beans. So anyway..." She pushed her glasses up her nose. "You know the weirdest thing? When I became Oracle, Necronomicon told me to _embrace the fear that made me weak and let it make me whole._ What's up with that? You think a Persona would tell you to _stop_ being scared and things like that."

Morgana spoke up for the first time in a while. "A Persona is the manifestation of our true selves," he said. "For good or for bad. We can't make things like fear or selfishness just go away because we want to. We have to lean into them... accept ourselves for what we are before our hearts become true."

"That... makes sense," Ann said hesitantly.

"Yeah. If you ignore the fact that the Phantom Thieves are all about getting the _bad_ out of other people," said Ryuji. "Doesn't that seem kind of weird then? Why do we have to embrace the shitty parts of ourselves yet it's the opposite for our targets?"

"I - I don't know!" Morgana ducked his head. "I mean, a change of heart is better than killing someone, right? How else would we get people to stop being cruel to others!"

"You're right," said Goro. "It's hardly as if the Metaverse was designed to appeal to a coherent morality system to begin with." He pressed his lips together. "You already had a Persona when we met you, Morgana. Do you remember how you got it?"

"Zorro?" The cat's tail drooped. "I... can't say. I know I had him before Kamoshida's Palace, but my memories aren't so great before that. It just feels like he's always been a part of me. Does that make sense?"

"No," said Futaba. "But you _are_ special. It just goes to show."

"When I don't even know my own past," said Morgana, "the last thing I want to feel is special."

Okumura had been silent this whole time, observing them in conversation and sipping her coffee. Now Goro returned to her. "So you see," he said. "I'm not going to pretend you don't have a stake in conquering your father's Palace, considering your situation - but it won't be easy. If you obtain a Persona, it'll come at probably the worst moment of your life."

"I see," she said, and collected her hands in her lap. "But I'd like to ask you all then - would any of you take it back?"

"Oh hell no!" said Ryuji at once.

"Me neither," said Ann. "Carmen is like the big scary sister I never had. When I'm in costume and she's standing over me it's like, watch out for Panther, whoo!"

Futaba snorted.

"Yeah, Necronomicon's pretty kickass," she said, stretching to get the feeling back in her legs. "Even if half the time I swear the creep's trying to get me into some funky mad scientist shit. Plus, the fact that I basically fly over the rest of you is pretty sweet."

"So stop hogging all our drinks then," Ryuji said.

"You wish!" She stuck her tongue out.

"I wouldn't take Robin Hood back either," Goro said.

 _How kind of you_ , the Persona whispered in his mind. Never mind.

"Zorro is my one true friend," said Morgana. "Apart from the Thieves. So..."

Okumura gazed at them. "It seems everyone here's undergone an awakening when they gained their Personas and changed for the better. I know it's presumptuous of me to say this, but I'd... like that experience too. I want to be a better Okumura Haru, and if this is the way, then - well, I'm not sure I have any other choice. So please - " She clasped her hands high. "Please take me along the next time you go to my father's Palace!"

"We... can't argue with that logic," Ryuji said. "Can we?"

"Senpai gave all of us a chance to be a part of taking down the people that hurt us most," said Ann. "It would be selfish to stop now."

"I think it's a good idea too," said Morgana. "Especially since we got you wrapped up all of this in the first place."

"Sure," said Futaba. "But why?"

"Hm?" said Goro.

She cocked her head. "I just wanna know first why you feel the need to be a better Okumura or what you just said. Far as I can tell - and I just checked your whole life history, by the way - you live a pretty fancy life with your dad up in Okumura Tower, you're going to get a huge inheritance when you're eighteen and you'll pretty much never have to work a day in your life. Why do you want to get entangled with a bunch of weirdos like us to begin with?"

"Futaba - " he began, but Okumura shook her head.

"No, she's right," she said. "My life is privileged compared to most people. And Father's never been cruel to me personally, even if he's difficult to his employees. Nothing... would really change for me if I wasn't a part of this."

"That doesn't mean you can't be involved," said Ann. "Isn't it enough that you want to be?"

"I..." Okumura lowered her gaze. "Isn't it?"

"Okumura-san," Goro said. "There's another reason for you wanting to change your father's heart, isn't there?"

"No - no! It's not that. Not at all." She was bright red. "I just don't want to see Okumura Foods' hardworking employees treated like machines anymore. That's all."

"Senpai, if your father's hurting you, you can tell us," said Ann.

"No secrets," said Futaba.

"Yeah, _you'd_ say that."

"It's nothing so terrible." She shook her head. "It's just... I'm engaged to a man of my father's choosing. He wants us to get married next spring, and I'm not even eighteen yet - and - "

Later, as he watched Ann wipe the tears off Okumura's face with two-ply tissue, Goro thought about asking his fellow third year about finishing school, and decided it'd be better if he didn't - at least for now.

* * *

 **Goro** : News?  
**Makoto** : I'm afraid not.  
**Makoto** : Sis has been in the room with Yusuke for an hour now.  
**Makoto** : I'm scared to even ask what she's questioning him for.  
**Goro** : I suppose it was too much to expect him to have been in and out like us.  
**Makoto** : The Madarame case meant so much to her.  
**Makoto** : Then it was taken from her, and now this...  
**Goro** : Do you know why they switched to a different prosecutor?  
**Goro** : I looked up her replacement and he didn't seem impressive, to put it lightly.  
**Makoto** : True.  
**Makoto** : If I didn't know better I'd say the higher-ups were trying to tank the case.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro** : Thank you for escorting him to the station today.  
**Goro** : It would have been a gongshow if he'd been on his own.  
**Makoto** : Somehow I don't think that's what you actually meant to write.  
**Makoto** : I have suspicions too.  
**Goro** : The replacement prosecutor was all but retired.  
**Goro** : And he'd never been on a high profile case like this before.  
**Makoto** : It was going to be sis' big break.  
**Makoto** : The first huge case she was mainlining on her own.  
**Makoto** : What happened behind the scenes?  
**Makoto** : If only we had someone on the inside.  
**Makoto:** Kurusu?  
**Goro** : No.  
**Goro** : Kurusu hates the cops and it's a mutual loathing.  
**Goro** : I can't see a reason for him to dig up stuff for us like this.  
**Goro** : Especially since I'm just a Shujin coffee boy to him.  
**Makoto** : Goro...  
**Makoto** : Futaba's told me about how you two interact at Leblanc.  
**Makoto** : I don't think that's how he sees it.  
**Goro** : Are you suggesting I honeypot my way into his sources?  
**Makoto** : No!  
**Makoto** : Nothing that would compromise your relationship.  
**Makoto** : I just think he's more receptive than you think.  
**Goro** : What about your sister?  
**Goro** : She's at the heart of this after all.  
**Makoto** is typing...  
**Makoto** : I'm already thinking about it.  
**Makoto** : It sounds crazy but...  
**Makoto** : I'm thinking about calling up Alibaba's services.  
**Makoto** : If we could listen in on her calls...  
**Goro** : How will you get her phone?  
**Makoto** : That depends on what Alibaba wants to do, of course.  
**Makoto** : What do you think?  
**Goro:** Let's do it.  
**Makoto** : We should ask Kurusu more about why he thinks Madarame was murdered.  
**Goro** : All of us? Or...  
**Makoto** : No. It'll be too suspicious.  
**Makoto** : The two of us.  
**Makoto** : I don't think I'll be out of place in the conversation.  
**Makoto** : And Yusuke did tell you to watch out for him.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that you know this.  
**Makoto is typing...**  
**Makoto:** I know you like him, Goro.  
**Makoto:** But we can't take any risks.  
**Goro:** I'll be careful.  
**Makoto:** Thank you.  
**Makoto:** I'll take Yusuke back to the dorm when the interrogation’s over.  
**Makoto:** You're not the only one worried about him.  
**Goro:** I never thought I was.  
**Goro:** But thank you, Makoto. You're a godsend right now.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** Ah, there the devil is.

* * *

Goro put his phone away just as the door to Leblanc wrenched open and a flustered Kurusu Akira rushed in, only to come to a dead stop at the sight of Goro perched on a stool in his uniform and green apron as if nothing had happened the past few days but a lazy weekend with a great deal of sleeping.

"So," Goro said, putting on his most inoffensive smile. "Kosei must have been a nightmare today, right?"

Kurusu just stared.

"You - you're making jokes. At a time like this."

"I think you have the wrong impression of what happened to me yesterday," Goro said. "All Nijima-san did was ask me some questions - "

"Shut up for a minute," Kurusu said, then came over and threw his arms around Goro in the most surreal hug of his life.

It was a tight grip, almost crushing, and Goro was paralyzed for nearly a whole minute before he remembered hugs tended to be better when two-sided. He settled his hands at Kurusu's back in the same clumsy manner he'd done with Makoto yesterday. He wasn't _entirely_ heartless.

Only this time, there was no one to interrupt them and so, Kurusu didn't let go of him.

Goro breathed into the boy’s jacket and tasted body wash on the tip of his tongue, a little sweat and salt, a savoury musk, and wondered what the _hell_ his mind was thinking up at the moment to get distracted like this.

Stick to the plan, Akechi. Remember who you are.

(And who Kurusu might be too, behind that perfect grin of his.)

"Feeling better?" Goro said after the stiffness had come into his limbs, patting Kurusu on the shoulder.

"Yeah," the boy said in a muffled voice. "Hold on."

And when he pulled back and sat down on the stool facing Goro, there was a red flush around the corner of his eyes.

"I... didn't think you'd react like this," Goro said, for lack of something more eloquent to say.

"No." Kurusu rubbed his nose. "I didn't think so either."

"Bad memories, perhaps?" 

The boy turned his face away to laugh, jagged and raw. "How did you know?"

"Just a feeling." Goro crossed his legs. "It usually takes personal experience to have a reaction like that. Even if it's over someone like me."

"Akechi..." Kurusu began. "By now you have to know you're not just _someone_ to me."

"I know." Even if he didn't know why just yet. "I've just been..." He sighed. "Trying to delay the inevitable? Truth be told, Kurusu, the idea of someone like you having an interest in... I don't know, the awkward preppy stiff that I am is hard to believe. I'm not easy to like - "

"BS," said Kurusu. "You have the most elaborate social life I've ever seen."

"Would you believe," Goro said, "that my bonds with other people are mutually beneficial?"

Confidants. Personas. His own ability in fusing, and appeasing the twins. Second Awakenings. Though Kurusu wouldn't know any of this, and true to form he said, "What, like friendship?"

"Something like that." Goro smiled. "And you're quite popular yourself. So I hope you understand why I haven't been... responding. I just didn't know if I even should."

Kurusu didn't say anything, and one wondered if it was better to busy himself with dishes and making a cup while waiting for the answer. But the boy said eventually, "Am I part of those bonds too?"

"Of course you are," said Goro. "I'd have kicked you out of Leblanc the first day we met if you weren't."

To his relief, it made Kurusu laugh. "Sorry for freaking out," he said, rubbing his eyes. "It's just in my experience, when someone shows up out of nowhere and takes you in for questioning - a cop or prosecutor or whoever - it doesn't end well for the poor bastard in the hot seat."

Goro knew that himself. "Even if it's one of the good ones just asking questions?"

Kurusu's mouth twisted. "I said that, didn't I?"

"Twice, if I remember. Do you still feel the same way?"

"I..." The boy scratched his head. "I say a lot of things to impress people."

Oh God, Kurusu. "Are you moving away from Nijima-san?"

"No! We still work together." Kurusu hunched his shoulders. "But she can't wait on me to get out of school every day, and she's stressed over not finding any answers lately, and - "

"I don't think you would have approached me to dig up on Madarame and Kaneshiro if the partnership was still going well," Goro said. "No?"

"Yeah. Yeah. It's like you know everything already." Kurusu sagged against the counter. "Sometimes I feel like _you_ should be the detective, and me the bumbling high schooler who just sleeps in class and makes coffee on the side."

Goro pursed his lips to repress a smile. "I don't sleep in class, Kurusu."

"Of course you don't," the boy muttered. "You're literally the perfect human being."

Goro snorted. Oh dear.

"Jealousy isn't a good look on you, I'm afraid. Why don't we talk about something else?"

"Like what?"

Hmm. It might be too soon to bring up Makoto's suggestion. Goro put it to rest for now and said, "If you don't mind a little oversharing, you could tell me about why you felt so strongly about me being questioned yesterday."

"That's a bit much, isn't it?" Kurusu blanched. "I mean - "

Wrong move. "I apologize. I was just curious." Goro brushed hair away from his face and behind one ear, conscious of how it made him look. Well, with Ann and Yusuke around it was difficult to pretend himself blind to his appearance: the former, always gently teasing about his fuddy-duddy fashion and thick shoulder-length hair; the latter, incredibly flattering at times when Goro was modelling for him, savagely damning in others when the angles came out wrong.

Also, with the way Kurusu liked to flirt with him it was a safe guess he liked the sight of Goro's hair spiraling out of its ponytail at the end of a shift at Leblanc. Just a thought.

"How about this instead," he offered. "Let me tell you something from my own past. Then you can decide."

"Oh." Kurusu eased up slightly. "A quid pro quo, then?"

Goro laughed. "Kurusu, you know terms like that and you still think you're bumbling? Please. Have some confidence in yourself."

"Read enough books and you'd be surprised the weird stuff you can pick up on a whim," the boy said, but with a grin peeking at his lips. "Fine. Tell me something I don't know about you, Akechi Goro."

"Well..." Goro cast his gaze down. Good grief, was he really playing the honeypot? If Futaba found out she'd find a way to inject it into his obituary one day, writ: _Akechi Goro, died as he lived - a trifling trickass ho._ "What do you want to know?"

Kurusu closed his eyes in thought. "Tell me something you've never told anyone else before."

"Knowing me, that could be literally anything. Be specific."

"The first happy memory you remember in detail," Kurusu decided. "Share everything."

Oh. Was he really going to go this far?

"Alright," Goro said, rolling his neck. "Let me tell you about the birthday party my mother held for me when I was five."

* * *

The thing was, she never had any time for Goro, but even young as he was, he understood.

In the mornings she dropped him off before work at Sawada-san's next door with two bentos, one for him and one for the old woman. Goro's world was in two apartments, each no larger than two hundred square feet, with stale tatami mats that stank of years of absorbed cigarette smoke from the previous occupant's bad habits, the cramped bathroom with its yellowing tiles and weak flush toilet and a bath just big enough to fit Goro and his mother if she sat in it with her knees up and he in between her legs.

There was the local park when Sawada-san felt strong enough to walk outside some days and her walker rattled less than usual. He could spend hours there digging up sand with his hands and the yellow toy shovel his mother bought for him from a 100-yen shop once. The play equipment was as outdated as the rest of the neighbourhood, paint peeling off in chunky strips from the climbing gym, the swings with their squeaking metal chains, the too-steep slide that became a cliffside after the day it rained. But it was free, and that was the most important part.

Most days out of the week Sawada-san was tired, and interested only in the NHK doramas on her tiny off-colour CRT. She would sit seiza with her back hunched over from sixty years of being a farmer's wife and a housewife before her husband died, the children had died, or moved away, the farm belonged to a distant grandchild who left it to wilt back to nature in duckweed and rice carp. Sawada-san was a tiny old thing in her eighties, with a pension that allowed her to rent this mediocre apartment on her own and eat mackerel with her rice and miso soup and pickled radish once a week, and take care of Goro without financial recompense.

She was the only reason Goro's mother could work, and all three of them knew that. So even when his small legs cramped from hours of sitting still of watching TV made for people thirty years older than him and his tummy ached because he was hungry, the breakfast of okayu hadn't been enough even with all the crunchy bits of last night's rice scraps Mama gave him to snack on, he bit his lip and kept it in, because in only a few hours lunch would come and he get to eat tamagoyaki, and octopus sausage like the ones he saw kids eating on TV.

Sometimes there was only one small sausage; sometimes there was two, and sometimes Sawada-san gave him hers because her dentures were too sore for her to chew, and it was food for children. "Eat your fill, Goro," she would tell him. "Goodness knows you need it."

Peck peck peck went the little bird that was Goro four going on five. Before he even knew it he would look at Mama's plate at breakfast and dinner too, and ask to eat the things he thought (hoped) she didn't want to eat for herself.

"Goro! Mama needs her own food too," she would always say.

"But I'm _hungry_ ," he insisted.

No matter what she did, he was always hungry.

"I know," Mama said. "Listen, darling, one day you'll be old enough to have your own job. You can work and use the money to buy anything you want - ice cream or candy or toys, but until then you'll have to hold on with what I can give you."

And Goro always try to make her laugh by asking: "Can I get three sausages in my bento tomorrow then?"

"Three! You greedy goose, do you know how much I have to work to buy one package of sausages at the supermarket? How much? How much, Goro?"

All the while, tickling him furiously before there was a knock on their door and the bachelor next door tell them to stop because the noise was killing his buzz.

"I don't know, Mama!" he would cry with laughter. "I don't know!"

"Too much," she said as she nuzzled his cheek, kissed him on the brow. "It's always too much."

* * *

Like every bright-eyed girl from a small town venturing into the big city for the first time, she'd had hopes and dreams. No upright young woman wants to be a housewife when she could be an office lady, or even better, an intern to an up-and-coming politician in the Diet Building itself.

"He was so handsome, Goro," she would say some evenings, when it rained and Sawada-san's joints ached too much to make the old woman good company. Goro lay his head in Mama's lap and snuck unsalted peanuts into his mouth while she sipped cheap sake out of a porcelain cup to make herself feel better. "If you'd seen him then, you would have fallen in love at first sight too."

"Mm," he agreed, because Mama always liked him to agree at times like this. "Papa sounds like a great man."

"I still love him," she would sigh, her breath as sweet as the grapes Sawada-san's children sent over in a box twice a year; once on her birthday, the other on the anniversary of their father's death. "I'd still do anything for him if he asked."

 _But he doesn't love me_ , said the unspoken, and Mama never said it.

* * *

Goro didn't know he was special until the day Mama woke him up early, borrowed a hot iron from Sawada-san to freshen up his clothes and combed his hair until he nearly cried from the plastic tool yanking out week-old knots out by the roots.

"It's your first day of kindergarten, Goro," Mama said, squeezing his shoulders. "You're going to make a good impression on everyone, aren't you?"

"Yes," Goro beamed, paper carnation in hand already for his teacher. "I'm ready."

To think, they shouldn't even have bothered.

Fuefuki was a small city, and Goro and his mother kept to themselves. Goro's mother was a woman of twenty-five with a son with no father, and a family that moved away from town to avoid her.

Akechi-san, as she was known, worked meager hours in a supermarket and left her child all day with an old woman who should be taking care of her grandchildren, not someone else's mistake. Akechi-san never attended the PTA meetings and was always tardy to supervision and volunteer days. Akechi-san fed her son plain rice and tamagoyaki and sausage and nori and called it _charaben_.

Akechi-san didn't have a husband, and despite her beauty she would never get one either.

(How did someone like _her_ have the money to dye her hair a light brown every month, or was there a haafu somewhere in her lineage? Neither answer made anyone terribly happy.)

Everyone in the neighbourhood cared deeply about Goro, they really did. It was just - how could a boy like him grow up to be anyone decent with a mother like that? He had been doomed from the start, and perhaps it was better not to give him hope about the future. In case he got in the way.

* * *

Even when children mean well, their parents don't.

* * *

"I'm sorry Mina-chan didn't want to come, Goro," said Mama. "But look! Cake! I even made it with strawberries the way you like."

He tried to smile. It came out wrong because he hadn't used it in a while and Mama said, "Oh, Goro, how are you going to cry on a day like this? I even bought candles. Let's light them together, shall we?"

"Okay," he said, and burned his finger when she passed him the lighter and he tried it on his own for the first time.

She doled out a big slice of cake for him with three fat strawberries, and two smaller ones for her and Sawada-san, who brought ocha and dango for the occasion. "It's not every day a boy turns five," she said, and presented it to Goro on a grey porcelain dish streaked with gold. "Go on. It's all yours."

He ate like a pig that day, and cried after when it hurt. But it was his day. Mama took him to the playground and pushed him on the swing while Sawada-san sat on a bench and soaked in the sun, and Goro briefly forgot that no one in his class had come to celebrate with him or even say hello.

(A month later, she hanged herself.)

* * *

Kurusu was fiddling with something in his bag when Goro finally came back to Leblanc and his vision refocused to the boy in front of him, taking out the contacts in his eyes and putting them away in their case, a pair of black-rimmed glasses resting on the counter beside him.

"I thought this story was supposed to be _happy_ ," Kurusu said, voice half in pieces as he slipped his glasses on. "There. Much better."

Goro blinked. "You're crying," he said. "Why?"

"Why aren't you?" said Kurusu.

Oh. He exhaled. "Because it was a good memory to me. I got to eat everything I wanted that day. The dango was wonderful."

"I meant the other stuff. Why aren't you sad about that?"

"There was nothing to be sad about," said Goro. "Until I went into kindergarten, I never knew I was different. Isn't that strange? I thought I was the most ordinary boy alive until other people told me I wasn't."

"It's wretched," Kurusu said. "People don't have the right to make you feel like that."

Ah, where was this gentle boy only a few years ago? Goro shook his head with a smile. "So they say," he said. "Don't worry, Kurusu. I'm not so glass-hearted anymore. I can take a few punches."

"You shouldn't have to," Kurusu said, and Goro supposed that was true.

"Come on," he said. "It's your turn."

"Really? Even now?" The boy screwed his eyes shut. "Give me a minute then."

"I'll make you a cup," Goro said, and got up to stretch his legs.

He didn't know if Kurusu was watching him when he did, though it was certainly possible. The boy had a thing for him, and while it had once made him uncomfortable thinking about it, he didn't know anymore.

Poor Yusuke. To think Goro would forsake him like this just because Kurusu had a nice smile and a nicer scent. A man had no loyalty to anything nowadays.

"Here." He set down a cup in front of Kurusu with a clink a few minutes later. "Mexican Altura. Don't tell Boss I'm giving this to you for free."

"I won't." Kurusu wiped at his eyes. "You wanted to know why I freaked out earlier?"

"Something along those lines," Goro said. "I _am_ flattered though."

"And you say I'm the fake one," Kurusu muttered as Goro came back to his stool. "Fine. It goes back to... ugh, why I became the Third Eye." He bit his lip. "Do you remember that day in the TV station, when the hosts asked you about the Phantom Thieves?"

"I remember," Goro said.

"They brought up my past too. And what I said then was that someone had hurt a friend of mine, and the police hadn't done anything to stop the criminal, so I did."

Ah.

"There was no friend," Goro said, and pressed his tongue in between his teeth.

"No," said Kurusu. "It was me."

* * *

He was coming home late from cram school, and it was dark out.

It was a route he took every day, and as usual he drifted past the parked bicycles on the street, saw which of the neighbours had their lights on in the house and who was still out. Who had company, and who didn't.

An orange cat curled its tail lazily around a telephone pole, then fled when it saw him approaching. Her name was Tamako-chan, and after years of gentle cajoling she still avoided him on sight.

Only tonight of all nights, in the distance he could hear a woman's pleading.

There was only one way forward, and his parents hadn't raised him to be a coward. So he walked towards the sound, even as his heart began to pulse, and his hand on his school bag felt small and slick.

Then he saw.

A man, visibly drunk even from afar, and arguing with a woman. He had his hand on her arm. The back door of his car was open.

He was trying to force her inside.

There was no one else around.

 _I have to stop this,_ the boy thought, and did.

Later, the police report would write him down for first degree assault.

The man who sued him never gave him his name.

The woman lied on the stand, and wept when he looked at her.

When the trial was over, his mother embraced him, and told him it was best if they never spoke again.

Two years in juvenile detention for... pushing a man.

(He got out early for good behaviour.)

* * *

"I probably overreacted," Kurusu said. "But the cops took me in for questioning too. And it didn't end the way it did for you."

"No," Goro said. "It didn't."

* * *

Either way, he was going to break somebody's heart.

What if it was his?

* * *

 **Makoto** : It might be too late now, but...  
**Makoto** : Did you ask Kurusu?  
**Goro** : ?  
**Goro** : About?  
**Makoto** : Sis' case.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** I'm sorry, Makoto.  
**Goro** : It completely slipped my mind.  
**Makoto** : We all make mistakes.  
**Makoto** : As long as you do it soon.  
**Goro** : I will.  
**Makoto** : Great!  
**Makoto** : Sorry, I hope I'm not keeping you up.  
**Goro** : I was already awake.  
**Goro** : It's fine.  
**Makoto** : It's two am.  
**Makoto** : Don't let Morgana catch you.  
**Goro** : I won't.  
**Goro** : Have a good night, Makoto.  
**Makoto** : Good night.

**Goro is typing...**

**Goro:** Call me Goro.

* * *

"Alright," said Futaba. "This is how we're going to do this."

* * *

"Welcome to the team, Okumura-san," Goro said, and activated the Nav App.

"We'll get you a nickname once you get your Persona," said Panther. "Right?"

"Right," echoed Fox.

"I look forward to it!" said Okumura, and giggled.

* * *

" _Look_ , lady," said Ryuji, leaning back in his chair without a care in the world. "I ain't gonna tell you anything different from my friends 'cause that's _all_ we were doing that day. Sending bentos to Futaba's mom and her co-workers, and that's it!"

"You've told me that repeatedly, Sakamoto-kun," Nijima said, with a capital-S Smile on. "But if you could clarify what happened in between eleven thirty and one thirty pm - "

* * *

"Plaything or toy," said the Shadow of Okumura Kunikazu to his daughter, "it doesn't matter to me. So long as Sugimura holds up his end of the deal, I don't care what happens to you."

The smile slid from Okumura Haru's face like grease dripping down a hot pan.

"Is that so, Father?" she asked in a voice as small as a thumble. "Do you really mean that?"

The Astronaut scoffed and turned away. "Go and take care of her, Sugimura," he said, cape already flowing away. "Show her how much you mean to her."

"I - " Okumura's eyes welled with tears. "Father, I - "

"Get ready," Goro warned the others, Hariti's comforting arms curled around him even before he spoke her name. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Come here, baby!" crooned the robot Sugimura. "Let me prove to you just how much I care - "

Noir's axe sliced his head clean off his neck, and Milady did the rest.

* * *

"We're not going to be in trouble, are we?" Ann widened her eyes in shock. "Nijima-san, you can't tell my parents! They're both _super_ famous fashion designers who work abroad, and if they find out - "

"Takamaki-san, I'm just asking questions and nothing more - "

"I'm a model, Nijima-san, I have so much to lose if this gets out. Please, please, please tell me my friends and I are going to be fine!"

"Well," said Nijima, faltering. "I still have one more person to talk to - "

* * *

"Got the keycard right here!" said Skull, holding it in between two fingers. "Easy peasy."

* * *

 **Goro** : Akira, when are you free next?  
**Akira** : Wow.  
**Akira** : Still gives me the chills when you say that.  
**Goro** : Yes, it's terribly exciting.  
**Akira** : It is!  
**Akira** : Feels like we're finally making progress, don't you think?  
**Goro:** I think so too.  
**Akira** : <(￣︶￣)>  
**Akira** : What do you need from me?  
**Goro** : A favour.  
**Akira** : Sounds fun.  
**Goro** : I don't know how close you are to Nijima-san still, but...  
**Goro** : I'd like to find out why she was replaced from the Madarame case.  
**Akira** : And who's this info for if you think you need a "favour" to ask me for it?  
**Goro** : Her sister Makoto.  
**Akira** : ?  
**Goro** : Believe me, she's relevant to our investigation.  
**Goro** : She was trying to help Shujin students who'd gotten sucked into Kaneshiro's line of work before.  
**Akira** : Before the Phantom Thieves took him down, you mean.  
**Goro** : Yes.  
**Akira:** Seems like crime-fighting runs in the Nijima line.  
**Akira** : What's her deal with Madarame then?  
**Goro** : She thinks Nijima-san might have been replaced to weaken his case.  
**Akira is typing...**  
**Akira:** Yeah, I got that feeling too.  
**Akira** : Is she reliable?  
**Goro** : We're friends.  
**Goro** : I trust her with my life.  
**Akira** : Well, now I'm jealous.  
**Akira** : When are you ever going to say that about me?  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** I don't know.  
**Goro** : When are we finally going on that date?

 **Akira is typing...**  
**Akira is typing...**  
**Akira is typing...**

 **Goro:** Akira?  
**Akira** : Sorry, I just died for a moment and had to revive myself.  
**Akira:** So, when are you free next?

* * *

"Just so you know," Futaba informed the two newcomers. "I think this is a horrible idea."

"Thank you, Futaba," said Isshiki-san, as Mementos came into being around Shibuya Station.

"I can't even believe what I'm looking at here," Boss said. "Why are you all in those costumes? And _why_ is everything so dark and depressing?!"

"Come." Goro tapped his foot. "We don't have much time to find those men's Shadows. Mona, if you please."

"You got it, Crow."

"Yo, Sojiro," said Futaba as Mona transformed in a puff of white smoke. "Ever seen a cat bus in real life?"

* * *

"Hello, Nakanohara-san," Yusuke said.

The man jumped to his feet. "Yusuke! You're still - you're - " He stopped. "How _are_ you?"

"Terrible," he admitted, and already felt his soul wearing thin at the thought of having to explain to another how dour his mood was, how tired he was in the mornings. "But I thought it would be pointless to avoid this meeting any longer."

"I'm glad you came, then," said Nakanohara, and laughed. "But my God, you're so big now - please. Tell me everything that's happened to you since I left."

* * *

"I hate to say it," said Panther. "But this is easily the worst Palace we've been in."

"I'm gonna say it then," said Skull. "This Palace _suuuuuucks_."

* * *

"Honestly, Makoto," Sae sighed. "You don't need to be here for all of your friends. At this point I know what I'm going to get out of them."

"I know," said Makoto. "But Futaba-chan asked me to come, and I'd feel terrible if I made her come to the station all on her own."

Sae smiled. "By now you know the receptionist better than I do. Well, I should start then."

"Yes - um, let me hold your bag here," Makoto said. "It'll just get in your way during questioning - "

"My bag," Sae said. "With all my documents inside. That'll get in the way?"

"I meant the other stuff. You need your files, but your lipstick? Your water bottle and phone? They'll just get in the way!"

Sae stared at her for a long moment, then shook her head. "I am tired of putting it on that dirty floor, yes," she said. "Here. Keep it safe for me."

"Thanks, sis." 

"You're thanking _me_ for guarding my bag?" Sae said. "You really are an odd one, aren't you?" With her files under her arm, she walked inside the interrogation room and sat down.

"Let's start, Isshiki-san," she said. "Shall we?"

Isshiki Futaba stopped chewing gum noisily and drawled, "Yeah, I plead the fifth."

"We're not in America, Isshiki-san," Sae said with a tight smile. "That doesn't apply here."

"Then I plead the _sixth_.”

“That's not this works - “

“I want my lawyer!”

* * *

“I keep dreaming I'm in Mementos,” Morgana said. “And I can't help but feel it's where everything began.”

“Everything?” Goro said. “You mean the Metaverse?”

“Yes,” Morgana said. “And me.”

* * *

 **Makoto** : I installed the wiretapping app on Sis’ phone.  
**Makoto** : Hard to imagine Alibaba could put something like that on a microSD chip.  
**Goro** : She has her ways.  
**Goro** : Should we bug her laptop as well?  
**Makoto** : Is that necessary?  
**Goro** : It's your say.  
**Makoto** : I think we should install the app on Kurusu's phone too.  
**Makoto:** It’s only fair.  
**Makoto** : I'm spying on my own sister for us.  
**Goro** : You're absolutely right.  
**Goro** : I have no moral high ground here.  
**Makoto** : Think about it this way.  
**Makoto** : If he's not who we think he is, then we could invite him onto the team.  
**Makoto:** You've thought about it too, haven't you?  
**Goro** : He would be an extraordinary asset to the Thieves.  
**Makoto** : Exactly.  
**Makoto** : I've looked up some of the cases he's solved.  
**Makoto** : And I'm near-convinced he has a Persona already.  
**Makoto** : His cases seem just like our Memento requests.  
**Makoto** : It's been impossible to dig up his family history or anything personal about him otherwise.  
**Makoto** : Nor is he affiliated with the police beyond sis.  
**Makoto** : So how is he finding all these tips and getting people to confess out of nowhere?  
**Goro:** It seems you have him pegged already.  
**Makoto** : You sound upset.  
**Goro** : I'm not.  
**Makoto** : Well, let's not worry just yet.  
**Makoto** : But for your sake, I hope he's exactly as he seems.  
**Goro is typing…**  
**Goro:** I wonder if he's figured us out as well.  
**Goro** : He's not stupid.  
**Makoto** : Do you want him to?

**Goro is typing…**

**Goro:** I think he needs us.  
**Goro** : Being part of a team might be good for him.  
**Goro** : He’s the loneliest person I've seen in a long time.  
**Makoto** : That's a bold statement.  
**Makoto** : How can you say that for certain?  
**Goro:** I can see it in his eyes.  
**Goro** : He's just like I used to be.  
**Makoto:** Oh, Goro.  
**Makoto** : I really hope this works out.  
**Makoto** : I don't know what we'll do if it doesn't.  
**Goro** : The team comes first. I'll think of something if necessary.  
**Makoto** : I sincerely hope you do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the other shoe drops. In canon, Akira was sent away on a year of probation. Here, he got two years in jail.
> 
> ... ... ... on happier news at least, the shuake is finally here guys?? And Goro not only acknowledges the elephant in the room that is Kurusu's feelings for him but also admits the boy has a really nice scent and flirts a bit???
> 
> Every time a chapter drops that not a lot happens in, I tell myself it's for character-building. Here... also, there's not much going on plot-wise, but at least a) Goro and Akira learn more about each other (and yes, they totally rank up) b) we actually go into Okumura's Palace for reals and Noir gets a one-sentence awakening lol c) since I'm a hack incapable of writing a convo with more than 4-5 people present, Goro and Makoto conspiring via text is a fun way to show their partnership + the fact that they scheme together like the Type-A nerds they are. It's becoming clear to me that Goro's greatest Confidants in this story are Yusuke, Futaba and Makoto (Akira isn't there just yet). They're his A-team (sorry to the original canon trio). 
> 
> This is probably obvious by now, but any convo Goro has with the PT or anyone else in the know, unless they specifically say to keep it a secret, are shared off-screen with everyone else since regurgitating information is dull. So Makoto is aware of Yusuke's suspicion concerning Akira, Wakaba obviously told Sojiro about the Metaverse since the stupid kids wouldn't, the PT knows what Sae's saying to each of them + what's going on in Okumura's Palace, and EVERYONE knows about the stupid love triangle tormenting Goro's social life. More importantly, Sojiro can understand Morgana now! Party at Leblanc baby!!
> 
> Next time: Akira finally meets the team this time I swear because I'm not a stupid lying hack, I totally didn't forget about Ohya I promise, Akira and Goro go on a date and hold hands n stuff 100%, Okumura goes down for real (at least this is actually true), and... something else drama llama or w/e. Let's be real, even I don't know what happens in a chapter until I write it down ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Enjoy...?


	17. Steal Okumura's heart III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before things get better, they always get worse.

**17\. Steal Okumura’s heart III**

Goro hadn't been to Shinjuku in a while.

It was largely his own fault. His sole reason for venturing so far from Yongen at this time of evening had for been for the fortuneteller Mifune, and over the past two months her hours had become spotty and inconsistent. Nor did he feel the need to make use of her readings as of late. Captain Kidd had become Seiten Taisei, Carmen Hecate, and Johanna Anat. If Goemon was still Goemon, it was because…

He couldn't think about it right now. Ryuji had taken Yusuke to his mother’s restaurant earlier. Goro wasn't the only friend he had.

The bar Crossroads was only a skip away from Shinjuku Station, and he could have gone straight there once he'd arrived. Akira wasn't due to show for another half-hour, leaving him time to think and mull over his choices.

He decided not to. He didn't know the place, and coming in ignorant wouldn't give the journalist the benefit of the doubt where he was concerned.

Ohya Ichiko. He'd looked her up beforehand to determine what kind of source Akira found reliable, only to nearly defenestrate the used laptop he'd bought from the local second-hand shop a few months ago.

Ohya worked for a tabloid. That itself raised a brow, but fine. Akira, a high schooler, had enough personal familiarity with a maid service to be making _recommendations_. His sense of permissibility was… flexible. No, what was absurd was at least  _half_ of Ohya’s articles featured bylines such as “Kurusu solves another case! How does the Third Eye do it?” and “Confessions of a high school detective - Kurusu's personal top five cases and recommendations for coffee shops in Tokyo!”

Goro should have seen it coming. Akira’s rise to public fame had a tail only half a year or so longer than the Thieves. That he had a one-woman propaganda booster in the pen of Ohya was... clever. Goro would be jealous had he ever wanted the Thieves to have any more public notoriety than they already did. It was already too much for his liking.

His meeting with Njima elder was coming up in three days; this time in a public venue, not that disturbing windowless room he and the Thieves had so recently made acquaintances with. Goro had been proud at first to get out of that questioning mostly unimpeded, as well as the fact that Nijima had gotten very little useful information from the rest of the team. Ryuji had been deliberately buffoonish; Ann the wide-eyed ingenue; Yusuke grave and proper and respectable; Futaba playfully antagonistic, and Makoto strait-laced and earnest enough to get out of personal suspicion.

Now the thought occurred to him that he may have made a fatal error.

There had been no reason to offer up information on Shido’s thugs like that. Nijima would have never expected something like that out of him. Moreover, how was a hacker to discover the kind of personal confessions the men’s Shadows had made in Mementos once defeated? Had he really thought she would let it slide at that? That a prosecutor wouldn’t ask any further questions?

_It’s not your fault. You didn’t have time to make a plan. You panicked. You just wanted to leave._

He’d wanted to do a lot of things that day.

If Goro didn’t show up to the meeting now then it was all Nijima would need to hunt him down further. Makoto respected her sister, but Goro doubted she knew the true extent of Nijima elder’s methods of getting what she wanted or she might be singing a different tune. A respectable person didn’t bring up the prospect of expulsion from school if she didn’t hear what she wanted from a witness. A respectable person didn’t take in multiple minors for questioning without their parents or a lawyer present. Ann’s parents were abroad, and she had forged their permission rather than have them find out. Sakamoto-san had nearly been in tears, from what Ryuji told him. Yusuke was technically a ward of the state. Makoto was her  _sister_. And Futaba…

Isshiki-san had known the risks of both agreeing and refusing to let Nijima question Futaba. Ultimately they had decided upon a strategy of irritating obliviousness, made doubly difficult by the fact that Makoto would be installing spyware on Nijima’s phone at the same time as the interrogation.

Speaking of. Goro was aware of the microSD - Alibaba’s current pride and joy - resting in a plastic case in his pocket. He was going to have to get his hands on Akira’s phone somehow without the boy noticing, with enough time to insert the microSD chip in, install the app, and get rid of the evidence.

They were going to a bar. Maybe Goro could buy a drink and… no. It wouldn’t work. Akira was probably a familiar there. Goro was the one who needed to stay on guard.

Which meant, for now, seeking advice on how to proceed forward.

“Ah, Mifune-san. May I sit down?”

The fortuneteller looked up from her cards, startled. “Akechi-kun. What a surprise. I haven’t seen you in nearly a month!”

Goro smiled sheepishly. “School got in the way.” Among other things.

“Yes, of course. Please, join me.” She waved her hand and he sat down in the creaky folding chair she always used for customers. Really, with how much she charged for readings and the Holy Stone racket she used to shill one would think she could afford marginally higher quality furniture for her business. But that wasn’t his place to say. Goro crossed his ankles and looked down at the cards in front of him. “Might I ask whose fortune you were considering there?”

“The cards?” said Mifune. “I’m afraid it was mine.”

Goro leaned in for a closer look. Various open-faced cards surrounded Mifune, but the one in the middle - the most prominent - was the Tower.

“Oh dear,” he said without thinking. “How long has this been going on?”

Mifune smiled wanly. “My luck in life has always been poor, Akechi-kun. You need not worry about that. This, however, has only emerged in the past few weeks. Every time I deal a hand, the same card stares up at me as if a friend.”

“It can’t be a good sign,” Goro said. “Has anything changed in your life recently?”

Mifune shook her head. “I haven’t been doing anything different. The only thing is…” She lowered her voice. “You remember when I told you about the ADP?”

He nodded. “That director was a shady character, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“... he is,” Mifune said after a pause. “The only thing is - I haven’t seen him in a while. I don’t know if he’s taking a leave of absence or if he’s ill, but the ADP hasn’t been contacting me as much. It’s been such a load off my mind to not have to worry constantly about selling Holy Stones or performing readings every day. You could say I’ve been on vacation myself.”

“So that explains why you haven’t been around,” Goro said, and Mifune laughed.

“I’m sorry if you were looking for me. But it has been good to have time to myself. I was beginning to resent the cards. The ADP made my gift feel more like a curse daily, but - “ She bit her lip. “I’m happier now. But why does the Tower still appear in my hands every day, then?”

Goro wondered, too. “The Tower represents change, does it not? Perhaps it’s the fact that the ADP are becoming a smaller factor in your life has to do with it.”

“Perhaps. But it seems… convenient, somehow. The director was like a noose around my neck for so long, and…” She drifted off, then snapped back to concentration. “I’m sorry, Akechi-kun. You must have come for a reading.”

“I did,” Goro said. “There’s someone in my life I’d like to get closer to.”

“Oh. May I have a name?”

“I’m afraid it’s a bit personal. Can you do without it?”

“I can,” said Mifune. “If you tell me more about them.”

“Very well.” He stretched his legs beneath the table. “He’s someone I met a few months ago. Initially I disliked him - I found him precocious, too approachable despite us being strangers. It set me on edge. But lately he’s been quite honest and kind to me, and I’ve come to enjoy his company. The trouble is I’m not sure what his true intentions are, and it seems dangerous to tell him about my own if it turns out we’re not on the same page. It might be catastrophic, to put lightly. So I’d like to find out more about him now, before it’s too late.

“Oh,” he added. “And he falls under the Justice Arcana for me.”

“Hmm.” Mifune blinked. “Akechi-kun, is this a romantic affinity reading you want me to perform?”

Goro snorted. “No, I don’t have any trouble with that. It’s more as if… he could be major trouble for me if we end up not seeing eye-to-eye in an intellectual sense.”

“Ah.” She began collecting her cards. “Do your values not align with each other?”

How did she know? “Something like that. I’d like him to see things more from my perspective, but naturally he wants the same. Unfortunately, I have no intention of budging on this.”

Mifune’s fingers wrapped themselves tightly over the cards as she heard him, and was still.

“Justice,” she said to herself. “I see. Very well, then.”

She laid out her cards in determination, and proclaimed success. As with every reading, a strange jolt of adrenaline shot through Goro’s heart. By now he knew Mifune was the real deal, but why should it affect him so personally? Was it that her cards were linked in some odd way to the Velvet Room’s machinations? They certainly had a material presence on the bonds he had with his Confidants, as well as when he needed a boost for studying or -

“Whoa,” said a husky voice right by his ear as hands slid onto his shoulders and squeezed. “I didn’t know you were into this kind of stuff, Goro.”

Goro resisted the urge to tip his chair back and right into the interloper’s stomach. “Hello to you too, Akira,” he said without looking, and felt the boy’s laugh - rather than heard - behind him as the hands let go and said:

“Hey now! It’s no fun when you play along like that.”

“Sorry I’m not a blushing maiden born to appeal to your ego,” Goro said, taking out his wallet. “Thank you for your time, Mifune-san. I’ll see you sometime soon again.”

“Yes, of course!” She accepted his money and looked up at Akira. “Kurusu-kun, it’s been a while! Could you be - “

“Goodbye now,” Goro interrupted, and grabbed Akira’s arm to drag him away before the boy could get a good look at Mifune’s cards.

“Whoa, whoa!” Akira protested. “Not that I don’t like you getting grabby with me, but what was that about? I was going to say hi to Chihaya-san too.”

“You mean you know Mifune-san,” Goro said flatly, letting go now that she was a bit aways. Akira rubbed his arm in a show of hurt.

“Yeah, of course I do. Who doesn’t like a little palm reading once in a while?”

“That’s not what she does,” Goro said under his breath.

“Sorry?”

“I meant she has other services too.” He smiled. “Let me guess: you use her luck readings as well, don’t you?”

“For what? Studying?” Akira’s eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head in realization. “Oh God, Goro, you’re a parody of yourself. Of course you’d come all the way to Shinjuku just for that.”

“Seize every advantage,” Goro said primly. “And wouldn’t you just know it, but you’re looking at the top third-year at Shujin Academy.”

“Yeah. By cheating.”

“Please. Mifune-san isn’t exactly feeding me the answers.”

“You,” Akira informed him, “are taking a supernatural paranormal untraceable  _doping_  pill.”

This was stupid. So stupid. And yet Goro leaned in close and murmured, “And how do you plan on taking me in, officer?”

Akira’s mouth when he opened it was as large and empty as the gaping jaws of a deep sea fish. Also, he was the colour of tomatoes. Goro laughed and pushed him away. “I  _thought_  you were all bark and no bite, Kurusu, but it’s nice to have it confirmed for myself.”

“Wait,” said Akira. “Give me a moment, I can totally do this - “

“Looks like we’re here,” Goro said, and walked into Crossroads on his own.

* * *

"It's gonna burn if you don't flip it, you know."

Yusuke had been staring at the okonomiyaki cook on the grill undeterred until now. "Oh," he said with a jolt. Ryuji was holding up the metal spatula from across the table in offering. "Thank you."

He flipped it only to discover the cooked side of the okonomiyaki a burnt brown, almost black. Inedible. "My apologies, Ryuji," he said, and put the spatula down.

"Hey, relax. There's more where that came from. Mom isn't going to let you go home hungry."

Sakamoto-san was presently attending to customers, leaving the two of them in a small side table with only two stools - the staff table, presumably. Yusuke smiled. "She's been the epitome of courtesy since we arrived. You've very lucky to have her."

"Yeah," said Ryuji. "I am." He looked down at the botched okonomiyaki on the grill and cringed. "Well... it's still food, ain't it?"

"Waste not, want not." Yusuke watched Ryuji liberally apply various sauces and dancing bonito flakes onto the okonomiyaki and cut it into fours with the spatula.

"So," Ryuji said as they broke their disposable chopsticks apart. "I don't really know how to do this - it's obvious I'm not the best when it comes to emotional stuff - but I just wanted to say that I'm here for you. The whole team is."

Oh.

"You have nothing to worry about," Yusuke said, trying to ignore the strange flush of pain in his chest. "Please. I don't want to become a distraction."

"Man, how could you? Not like people wouldn't get it if you were." Ryuji winced. "I mean, it's  _okay_ , you know. It's okay to be sad and feel messed up right now."

"Is it? Sensei was - Madarame," Yusuke corrected himself, "wasn't someone to weep over, even in life. He would have... scolded me, if he had ever seen me shed a tear for him."

"Yeah," Ryuji said. "Assholes kind of do that."

Goodness. Yusuke let out a snort despite himself. "Ryuji, you don't have to... I'm grateful, but Goro's already spoken to me."

"Did he give you some super emo story about his past to make you feel less shitty about yours? Because he's not the only one who can pull that card. Plus, I'm not sure he's the best therapist for you right now. Considering..."

Considering what? The strange dance of implications he currently had with Kurusu? Yusuke tried to keep his feelings to himself, but Goro, for all his cleverness, seldom knew when to escape a precarious situation without rendering it more unstable. Like Yusuke with his art, he swept himself up in his brilliance too easily, unthinking of the next time he would land on solid ground until he came crashing down.

Or perhaps he was simply in a bad mood. That could be it.

"What anecdote did Goro tell you?" he found himself saying.

Ryuji crunched on his piece of okonomiyaki with a grimace. "Let's see... did he ever give you the 'my last pair of socks wore out and no one wanted to buy me new ones, so I spent a month just wearing shoes until I got blisters and had to go to the clinic' one?"

"Ah... no," said Yusuke. "I have received several stories about the value of passive-aggressively destroying the social reputation of bullies, however."

"Like I said." A snort. "That guy's a menace. And no offense, but he kind of always makes it about himself."

Yusuke bit the inside of his mouth. "Right now I sense that you want to make it about you."

"Ouch. Okay,  _true_ , maybe. It's just... even when he's trying to help, he can be a bit dark. And his way doesn’t have to be the only way, you know?”

Yusuke’s barley tea was lukewarm when he sipped it. “I’m not sure there’s any kind of  _way_ to suddenly get over something like this.”

“Hey. I didn’t say  _suddenly_.” Ryuji sucked at his bottom lip, then sat up straight as if he had come to a secret conclusion. “Okay, look,” he said. “Back when my mom and I used to live with my dad, he was a total piece of shit, alright? He was the kind of guy the PT would have kicked to the curb. He used to drink all the time and hit my mom, and - “

He broke off, watching Sakamoto-san cooking for a customer on the other side of the restaurant.

“I’m sorry about that, Ryuji,” Yusuke said, unsure of how to proceed.

“Hey. You had nothing to do with it.” He shrugged. “One night he put his cigarette out on my arm when I was like six. That was the last straw for my mom. I thought she was going to kill him, she nearly snapped. You know what she did? She crushed sleeping pills in his food one night and he slept like the dead while we packed up and got out. It was… probably the scariest experience of our lives then. Somehow we got through it.”

He had begun tapping his foot below the table, and his burnt okonomiyaki went uneaten. Yusuke tasted the black grit of his own somewhere in between his teeth. He’d have to brush carefully later.

“Except the thing is…” Ryuji sighed. “For a long time I  _didn’t_ get it. I was with my mom now, and we didn’t have to worry about dad flipping out and trying to hurt us. But I kept missing him. I kept wanting him to call me good sport and wrestle with me, and even with all the horrible things he was doing to us, I… couldn’t get over wanting him around again. I mean, he was my  _dad_.

“Isn’t that just the worst?” he said with red heat creeping up his face, and Yusuke closed his eyes to let the boy recover in peace and dignity.

“He raised you,” he said, pulling the words out of his mouth like lotus roots from mud. “And society dictates we respect and cherish our fathers, even if…”

“Even if they ain’t shit,” said Ryuji. “People from the outside don’t get it. It’s always shit like _you should be grateful_ or  _you were gonna turn out bad the way you were raised_. Or even when it’s our friends it’s stuff like _just hate him and move on already_  and…” He swallowed. “Shit like I said to Ann about Kamoshida. I - why didn’t I get it then? I never tried to think about it from her point of view.”

“I… think we’ve learned a lot over the past few months,” Yusuke offered. “You didn’t know. Now you do.”

“Ye - yeah.” Ryuji grinned weakly. “Sorry, I was supposed to give  _you_ a pep talk.”

He looked down at his empty plate. “Thank you, Ryuji.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. The point is - those feelings you’ve got right now? They’re natural. It’s okay to have them.” Ryuji rubbed at his eyes. “I don’t know how long it took me to get over the fact that the man I wanted my dad to be was never that - and despite that, it was  _okay_  for me to want things from him like him taking care of me or treating mom right or being a decent human being. Because - because, hell, that’s the responsibility people take on when they have kids, or relationships in general, and it’s okay to hate someone and still miss them and want them to care about you.”

“I know,” Yusuke said. “But Sensei is dead, and everything I could have said to him no longer matters anymore.”

“Yeah.” Ryuji exhaled. “And my dad’s probably one of those homeless drunks in Shibuya Station now or wherever. It’s not - ultimately it’s not about them, you know, but ourselves. Our feelings and how we get through them - learn to accept them, messy as they are. That’s how we learn to forgive  _ourselves_ and move on.”

Ah.

“Okay,” said Ryuji. “Now you can thank me.”

Yusuke laughed with a wet sound in his throat. “Since when did you become so eloquent, Ryuji? You should be a therapist when you’re older.”

“What, you think I’d be good at that?” The boy pinked with praise.

“Yes, I think so.” Yusuke leaned against the wall. “Perhaps all of our friends should come to you for a consultation next.”

“Aw, hell no! As if I can even handle my own issues half the time,” Ryuji grumbled. Just as he spoke, Sakamoto-san came around with a fresh mixing bowl full of ingredients.

“Have another, boys,” she said with a smile. “Kitagawa-kun, are you well? Is Ryuji treating you right?”

“ _Mom_ ,” said Ryuji.

“Ryuji’s been very kind to me today,” Yusuke said. “Thank you for your hospitality, Sakamoto-san. I’m honoured to make your acquaintance.”

“Oh, please!” she said, but the colour when she flushed was the same as her son’s.

* * *

The journalist Ohya whistled when Goro and a mostly recovered Akira approached her at the bar. “Kurusu! You brought a friend this time? You  _have_ a friend?”

“I… have lots of friends, Ohya-san,” Akira said, but clearly without his usual charm. Oh dear, was he so easy to send sprawling off that solid stance of his? Depending on how Mifune-san’s reading paid off, Goro might just have to keep needling him for light sport.

… or he could remember that this wasn’t a joke, and get back to business.

“Good evening, Ohya-san,” Goro said, and introduced himself - without pause, for once - as Akira’s assistant. “We heard you might have information for us regarding Kaneshiro Junya?”

“We?” Ohya drained her bourbon on the rocks. “Kurusu, are you in with this kid?”

“Yeah.” Akira scratched his nose. “Akechi’s trustworthy. For now.”

Well, if that wasn’t a ringing endorsement. Goro was about to retort back something equally petty when Ohya choked out, “ _Akechi?_ Is that your name?”

“... Akechi Goro,” he said, a prickling sensation at the back of his neck. “Do we know each other?”

“Not at all, kid. But hell!” Ohya’s mouth was stretched in a grin of magic joy. “You wanted to know about Kaneshiro? Your name is in my  _sources_  about Kaneshiro. Or at least, the Akechi who’s with someone named Mako-chan - “

 _Clink_.

“If you’re going to talk about the mob with a pair of teenagers,” grunted the bar owner Lala as she set down a full bottle of sake in front of Ohya, “ _take it to a booth_.”

“Yeah,” said Akira, and from the smoothness that had come back into his tone, he was on the prowl again. “Let’s.”

* * *

For the second time in nearly a week, Goro was acutely aware of disaster pressing down onto his shoulders, only this time it came upon him as he sat in a rounded booth between a nosy journalist who suddenly considered him  _her_  source regarding all things yakuza-related and Akira, who blatantly had his legs crossed so there was no chance in hell of Goro squeezing past him without him getting out of the way first.

Which was clear he was not going to do.

“Right,” said Ohya. “So tell me again how you got kidnapped.”

“Yeah, Goro,” Akira said lazily. “Tell her how you and Mako-chan got kidnapped.”

Ah, joy.

He didn’t know how much Ohya knew or didn’t know, or how much he had been mentioned by this source of hers - which logically speaking, could have been only those in the host club room with them that day. So Kaneshiro, now in prison and probably confessing to more big time interrogators than a tabloid journalist, those two men who had kidnapped Goro and Makoto who had either fled or were in jail themselves, and -

“Hey,” said Ohya, chicken scratch coming to a stop. “I’m not going to sell you out to anyone, alright? The reason Kaneshiro got away with it for so long as because his victims were scared they’d be in more trouble than him if they got caught. You and your friend got in over your head. I’m not going to blame you for trying to do a good deed, even if it didn’t work out in the end.”

“Right,” Goro said, and forced himself to smile.

“ _Besides_ ,” said Ohya. “Koko-chan said you were a good kid. You protected your friend and refused to sell her out. Hell, she says you even taunted Kaneshiro! That takes some guts.” She pressed her index finger and thumb together and made a zipping motion across her mouth. “And to think you’re still going after him now! I love it. If you wanted I could write a story out of it.”

“No thank you,” Goro said while Akira coughed in laughter. “I’m just an ordinary high school student after all. I wouldn’t want to attract the wrong kind of attention. Also, Koko-chan? Are you sure?”

Ohya winked. “She doesn’t exactly go by that name anymore, you know. Nor was she interested in going to the cops - they’d have dinged her too, and she’s had enough of drama for one lifetime. But she was quite impressed by you and Mako-chan - “

“Makoto,” said Akira. “Right?”

“Oh, Akira,” Goro said with saccharine sweetness. “It’s like you already know everything about me.”

“Aw, thank you, honey!” Akira preened. “I do try - “

“Ugh, I’m going to barf,” said Ohya. “Flirt on your own time, please. I do have deadlines to get to. Tell me what you want to know so Lala-chan can kick us out and close up already.”

Right.

Ohya fulfilled her half of the deal, and thirty or so minutes later Goro was left reeling. Koko-chan was possibly the most important witness in this whole case, and yet she’d never gone to the police lest they arrest her as well.

“You’d be surprised what kind of stuff people let slip when they’re with someone they never have to think about as a person,” Ohya said, and to writ: Kaneshiro was in debt to someone who’d helped him rise up as a yakuza boss in Shibuya and kept the cops off his back; half his revenues went to this person, who never came to Kaneshiro’s haunts and on the phone was only ever called “Sir”. According to Koko-chan, the man on the other end seemed like a shady politician-type -

“It’s Shido,” Goro said. “It has to be.”

“What?” said Akira.

“You mean the  _politician_ Shido?” Ohya frowned. “And how’d you know something like that?”

Think. Isshiki-san. The thugs who claimed to work for Kaneshiro. They must be Shido’s men - mercenaries, at least. Enforcers for those who got out of line. Cleaners.

“Akira,” Goro said. “Madarame wrote about a serpent too. One he was in debt to.”

“You think it’s the same guy?” Akira sat up straight. “We have no direct proof though.”

“It’s a hypothesis, yes,” said Goro. “But I’m not wrong. I know the man. Blackmail is just his type.”

“Wait,” said Ohya. “You know Shido?”

“I met him once,” Goro said. “He was… unpleasant.” He smiled. “But don’t take my word for it. I can get you in touch with someone who’ll vouch against his character personally.”

“Hold on, I didn’t agree to this.” Ohya scowled. “You’re trying to railroad me and I’m not taking the bait. First off, Shido’s running in the election so anything I write will come off as a hit piece. Secondly - “

“He’d retaliate,” Goro said. “Right?”

Beside him, Akira turned his head and stared at Goro. Studying him now.

“You’re a tabloid journalist,” Goro said. “You must know better than anyone what the grape vine’s been whispering.”

Ohya sagged back in the booth. “Forget it, kid. No one’s ever been able to get a grip on that guy for over a decade. He’s the most slippery schemer I’ve ever seen in my life. Nothing’s going to stick.”

“Come on, Ohya-san,” Akira said. “If you get your hooks into Shido and it turns out he was the guy blackmailing Madarame and Kaneshiro? You could  _buy_  the paper you work at. You’d never have to worry about your shitty editor ever again.”

“As if that guy’s even come into work for weeks,” Ohya muttered. “Look - I know you mean well, but this is way out of your paycheck. It’s way out of  _my_ paycheck, and I make a living at this kind of thing.”

“I’m not saying you need to run anything,” Goro said. “Just that I know someone who’s familiar with Shido’s habits. I’ll pass along the contact number, and all you need to do - if you want to - is talk, and confirm your own suspicions. That’s all.”

Ohya closed her eyes and sighed. “Confirm my suspicions, hm? Wow.” Her gaze snapped open. “Fine. I’m dying to know, in any case.” She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a crumpled business card, passing it to Goro. “I’ll take your bait for now.”

“Thank you.”

Ohya snorted and got up. “Yeah, yeah. Where did you  _find_ this guy, Kurusu? He’s as big a piece of work as you are.”

“He’s my favourite barista,” Akira said, beaming.

Ohya went off to settle her bill, while Goro and Akira had only had water. Goro blinked when it was over and slackened in his seat. “Well, that didn’t go terribly - “

“Goro,” Akira murmured, still in the same booth as him. “Aren’t we going to talk about the elephant in the room now?”

Goro offered him the most innocent smile he could dredge up from his sorry bones. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Akira.”

“Aaah. You’re being passive-aggressive again.” Akira leaned in close, had the gall to touch Goro’s hair with a pair of fingers like he had the right to. “Come on now. This game of cat-and-mouse is getting dull, don’t you think? At some point somebody has to get caught - “

“I kissed a boy,” Goro blurted out.

Akira froze. “Oh,” he said, and put his hand back at his side. “Alright. That’s not what I wanted to talk about, but - “

“It was Kitagawa,” Goro said. “And it just occurred to me that if - if we’re going on a date, something like that shouldn’t be left unstated.”

“... okay.” Akira’s smile faded. “I mean, you didn’t kiss him right before this meeting, did you?”

Goro shook his head. “In Hawaii. And it was more the other way around. He wanted me to - he asked me to consider the idea of us. Together.”

“And…?” Akira looked more bewildered by the minute.

“I’m going to tell him no,” Goro said. “Just - not right now. Considering his situation.”

“That makes sense.” Despite his flat tone a hot flush had overtaken Akira’s face. “I hate that you’re manipulating me right now,” he said. “It’s so transparent, and kind of sloppy. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“But,” he continued. “I’m a sucker for pretty faces. So you know what? I’ll allow it. Just for tonight. I wouldn’t be able to get anything real out of you anyway.”

Goro  _wanted_  to be offended by that statement, but it was impossible. It was the truth.

“I have something else for you,” he said, and when Akira actually closed his eyes, he frowned. “Please don’t get excited. It’s just a keychain from the Big Bang Burger in Hawaii.”

Akira stared down at the little plastic toy Goro thrust at him, and said, “Darling,” in a voice as dull as a rake. “You shouldn’t have.”

 _Oh trust me_ , Goro thought. _It was all Okumura-san._

* * *

 **Akira** : Well, despite your deceitful ways I genuinely enjoyed our night together.  
**Akira** : I like you, Goro, so let’s not lie to each other any more than we have to.  
**Akira** : After all.  
**Akira** : I’m a guy who can barely keep secrets to himself.  
**Akira** : At some point we’re going to have to talk.  
**Akira** : Your friends should be there too.  
**Akira** : The whole merry gang.  
**Goro** : I know, Akira.  
**Goro** : I just need time.  
**Goro** : Things are complicated at the moment.  
**Akira** : You know you can ask me for help, right?  
**Akira** : I want to help you.  
**Akira** : What you said to Kaneshiro was badass.  
**Akira** : I have a feeling you’ve got bulletproof skin under that stupid argyle vest.  
**Goro** : My vest isn’t stupid.  
**Akira** : ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
**Goro** : Give me time.  
**Akira** : How long?  
**Goro** : A week.  
**Akira** : Sae-san moves faster than that and you know it.  
**Goro** : I’m seeing her in three days.  
**Akira** : And? You realize how much of a liability she is to you right now?  
**Goro** : Honestly, Akira, I’m shocked you’re even taking my side on this.  
**Goro** : You’ve never even asked me why Nijima-san took me in for questioning to begin with.  
**Akira** : Oh, I asked her.  
**Goro** : ?  
**Akira** : She told me to mind my own business for once.  
**Akira** : It hurt my feelings.  
**Goro** : You’re welcome to stay out of it. You’re not involved.  
**Akira** : Blatantly false, but whatever.  
**Akira** : I’m connected to this whole stupid conspiracy going on here.  
**Akira** : And so are you.  
**Goro** : See you in a week, Akira.  
**Akira is typing…**  
**Akira:**  See you.

* * *

 **Goro** : Let’s finish the Palace tomorrow.  
**Goro** : Kurusu knows.  
**Goro** : It’s too dangerous to dally.  
**Makoto** : What?  
**Makoto** : Did he tell you?  
**Goro** : He was going to.  
**Goro** : I managed to distract him, but he’s losing patience.  
**Ann** : Wow, this is getting scary.  
**Ann** : What do you think he wants from us?  
**Goro** : I’m not sure yet.  
**Goro** : But we’re going to need all hands on deck for now.  
**Yusuke** : Let’s go, then.  
**Ryuji** : Yeah.  
**Ryuji** : What about the calling card?  
**Haru** : I’ve prepared it already.  
**Haru** : I hope it’s enough.  
**Goro** : Whatever you make will be perfect, Okumura-san.  
**Makoto** : Perfect. Let’s met up after school, then.  
**Ryuj** : Btw why hasn’t Futaba said anything?  
**Futaba** : gg ez bye  
**Futaba** : (Some of us want to sleep, you know…)  
**Ryuji** : BS you never sleep.  
**Ann** : OK thanks guys bye!!

* * *

“So that’s the Treasure,” said Noir. “It looks so… insubstantial.”

“It’ll gain a concrete shape when your father receives the calling card,” said Goro.

“And then we’ll change his heart.” She swallowed. “Right.”

Goro smiled. “Are you afraid?”

Noir laughed uneasily. “I’m going to be fighting a fantastical version of my father in hopes of making him a better man, so yes, Akechi-kun, I’m terrified that something will go wrong tomorrow.”

“So long as we do everything by the book, we’ll be fine,” he said. “Now let’s go home.”

* * *

It went along the lines of something like this:

The Astronaut’s men came out in waves, and the Phantom Thieves stood as one.

When it was over, Goro stepped aside with a flourish. “Noir, would you like to do the honours?”

Sweating, her hat half off her head, mask askew and hair frizzing with heat and sweat, Noir leaned against the handle of her axe and breathed out long ragged breaths. “If that’s what it’ll take,” she said. “Then gladly.”

Okumura Kunikazu was slain by his own daughter’s hand, and it was she who held his Treasure in her arms after as if it was her newborn child.

“I’ll see you very soon, Father,” she promised, and left the Palace with Queen’s arm around her shoulder and the others following, exhausted but triumphant.

“And all in good time, too!” Oracle remarked. “Yo, Crow, you want me to bring back New York cheesecake for you?”

“I’d like to see you get it through Customs first,” Goro said, and once more reality dissolved into the world around them.

“Game  _on_ ,” said Futaba. “Alright, let’s get the hell outta here.”

* * *

In the silence of his Palace, Kunikazu knelt alone and wondered when it had all gone so wrong.

His father’s cafe had crashed and burned when he was only a boy. They couldn’t make a living on selling coffee alone. Mother had needed to work to provide for them, and after seeing Father’s defeated back hunched over in the bath all too many times, Kunikazu vowed never to taste hunger again.

Now the only thing that was full in his life was his bank account. He had neglected Haru, promised her over to that greedy Sugimura so Kunikazu could profit from their connections. He had mistreated - no, abused his employees, took their youths and livelihoods from them and spat them out for an extra ten cents on a share of Okumura Foods.

He had destroyed so many lives, and for what?

He would atone, he resolved. He would change the work policy at Okumura Foods at once. He would pay back wages and compensation to all the former employees he’d wronged. He’d break off Haru’s engagement. He wouldn’t go into politics. Now that he could see it was clear he would only relapse in such a toxic arena. He would -

“Okumura,” said a voice he didn’t recognize. “Is the weight of all your sins finally dragging you down to the hell where you belong?”

Kunikazu looked up to see a gun pointed at his head, and stumbled onto his back in fear. “Wha - what do you want?” he stammered. “You’re not the Phantom Thieves.”

“They were here earlier,” said the figure, the man who looked like a prison warden and an enforcer and a shadow made flesh, a sleek black mask covering his face entirely. “Did they change your heart, Okumura?”

“Ye - yes!” Kunikazu nodded furiously. “Please, I see how I’ve wronged people now. I’m going to change - I’m going to fix Okumura Foods and help people, and - “

“That’s not good enough,” the stranger said, and lifted his gun again. “You want to atone for your crimes? You haven’t even been sentenced yet.”

Kunikazu’s back hit the wall. There was nowhere left to go, and the gun pressed against his forehead, metal and cold.

“The Phantom Thieves changed my heart,” he begged, the tears streaming down his face. “You have to give me a second chance, please. _Please don't kill me._ “

The stranger put his gun away.

"You're right," he said. "Killing you wouldn't prove anything."

Kunikazu sagged in relief. "Thank you, thank you - "

"How about this, instead."

He snapped his fingers, and a great hungry beast manifested over his shoulders and loomed over him like a shadow to end all shadows. No, a _Persona_ -

"Enjoy the show, Okumura," the stranger said, and Kunikazu's mind fell to pieces and was gone.

* * *

The Palace fell, and the one known as the Warden vanished.

* * *

“Hello, Nijima-san,” Goro said as he sat down at the Shibuya diner booth. Two black coffees were on the table already, one for him. “You look well.” He slid the portfolio towards her. Before she could speak, he added, “Ask those men about these lines of questioning. You’ll get through to them.”

Nijima’s lips curved slightly upward. “They’re already proving cooperative. And without your help, might I add.”

“Then I’m sure you no longer have any need of me,” he said, and looked to the exit.

She laughed. “I’d be careful about bolting at the moment, Akechi. Just because we’re in public doesn’t mean we’re alone.”

Oh. 

How nice.

Goro settled back onto his seat and forced a smile onto his face. “Then, do you have any more questions for me?”

“Yes,” said Nijima. “I’d like to meet this hacker of yours.”

“I’m afraid that’s impossible. I’ve never met them in person myself.”

“And how do you intend on proving something like that?”

“How  _can_  I?”

“That’s fine.” Goro blinked at the admission. “From what I can surmise,” Nijima said, flipping through the documents. “You’re not exactly using the traditional methods.”

“Please, enlighten me.”

“I think it’s time I told you,” Nijima said with a small smile. “The Kaneshiro case isn’t the only one I’m working on at the moment.”

What?

Beneath the table Goro splayed out his fingers, began counting in his head. “Once again, Nijima-san, you have the advantage of me.”

“It would be absurd if I didn’t.” She narrowed her eyes. “You and your team have played your cards well, but you’re still children. You lack subtlety. Your tells are  _everywhere_.”

Oh, to hear this from someone who worked with Akira of all people. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I questioned Madarame Ichiryusai multiple times before his unfortunate passing,” said Nijima. “He told me he was being blackmailed by another, though he only ever called this person the  _serpent_. Apparently that gaudy mansion of his was given to him as a loan some years back, and he’s been repaying this serpent ever since, lest he be exposed as a plagiarist and his reputation and livelihood destroyed.

“You’re not even surprised,” she added at Goro’s dull expression. “You know this already.”

“If you know this much,” Goro said. “You know Akira and I have been digging around for our own curiosity.”

“Akira?” mouthed Nijima with faint surprise. “And what for? Kurusu is an inherently nosy figure, but you? What stake do you have in this?”

“One of Madarame’s former pupils is my friend - “

“Yes, Kitagawa was quite valiant in his defense of you.” The look of vague satisfaction on Nijima’s face made Goro dig his nails into his thighs. “I thought it was just that too. Until I remembered what you told me about a certain politician. The one you said was behind both Madarame and Kaneshiro.

“I spoke to Isshiki Wakaba. She had a reason to be against Shido. Even if her accusations against him are just that.” Nijima’s voice grew quiet. “But again. Why you? You have nothing to do with him.  _Had_.”

Goro could run. Turn left on the alley and flee into the Velvet Room. Disappear for a few hours, or for the rest of his life.

“I called the manager of the Fuefuki Boys’ Home regarding you. She was quite distressed to find out you were in trouble with the law. Moreover, she helped me fill out the gaps regarding your personal file. I understand now.”

“I… can help you,” he managed. “Shido is a menace to society - “

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t believe I have any right hearing that from one of the vigilante Phantom Thieves.”

Ah.

She knew.

Of course she did.

“You have no proof,” he said finally, because there was nothing else he could say to that.

“Sakamoto. Takamaki. Kitagawa. All with direct connections to your previous targets. Everyone with a reason to hold a grudge.” Nijima tapped a finger on the table. “The only connection I couldn’t follow was regarding Medjed - but then Isshiki told me something quite interesting during her own interrogation. She told me her daughter Futaba was a self-taught hacker who could break into anything. That she used to go by the alias Medjed. And that she had recently become friends with all of you.

“Now tell me that’s not something,” Nijima said. “And you in the middle, the orphan abandoned by society and the son of - “

_“Don’t you dare.”_

“The mask slips.” Nijima Sae leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms. “Tell me this, Akechi. When did Kurusu become a part of your team? Was it at the beginning or did he join you later?”

Goro stared.  _“What?”_

“I always wondered why he kept insisting we go to Leblanc for our meetings, or why he kept reassuring me you were trustworthy. Did the two of you find it amusing, keeping a secret this monumental from me?”

“Stop,” said Goro. “Akira’s not a part of the - “

“You never used to call him Akira,” said Nijima.

There was nothing he could say to that. Nijima called the waitress over and paid the bill. Just as the waitress left, Goro mumbled, “You’re missing someone.”

“Excuse me?”

“You mean to tell me you don’t suspect Makoto?”

Nijima scowled. “Makoto has made a poor choice associating with you and your friends. That’s all.”

“If you only knew,” Goro said, spite heating up his entire core. “But then, when some sources won’t even talk to the police, you’re left with what you have.”

“And what is  _that_  supposed to mean?”

He looked around. “Nijima-san, with the way you’re behaving I’m starting to get the feeling this  _case_ is one of your own making. Did anyone actually assign you to it? Because I don’t think you would be threatening me in a public venue if it was actually official.”

Nijima Sae stared at Goro unblinkingly, and he refused to turn away as well.

“If you want to know so badly,” she said. “Kaneshiro Junya overdosed in his cell last night. His men spoke freely when they found out. They didn’t need your elusive  _tactics_ to tell me what I needed to hear.”

Dear father was getting awfully lazy, Goro thought, then fought the urge to wretch at using the word.

“Sloppy,” he said. “How will people claim it’s a suicide now?”

“You’d be surprised.” Nijima glowered. “I’m sure the autopsy report has already been scrubbed to remove any suspicion of outside involvement.”

“And now what?” said Goro. “Do you plan on turning me in so you can salve your wounds at another case being snatched from your hands like this? Do you think  _accusing_ some poor orphan boy with a tragic backstory of being one of Japan’s most popular heroes at the moment will do you and your career any favours?”

“You,” said Nijima. “Or Kurusu Akira.”

All at once, Goro felt a flush at his back, as if fingers were tapping down his bare spine. He was going to get someone killed here.

“I’m curious in figuring out which of you is the mastermind,” Nijima continued. “Kurusu has the means. You have the motive. Should I ask him instead? He’s been quite upset at me locking him out of the loop lately. Perhaps I - “

“Give us time,” Goro said. 

“Time…?” She scoffed. “So you can go after another victim? I don’t think so.”

“They’re targets. Not victims.”

“Of course. How else could you justify yourself?” She shook her head. “ _Listen to yourself_. You’re children, toppling over mountains because you feel being victims of society has given you license to run ramshod all over it. You have no idea what kind of damage you’re doing. Leave this to the adults - “

“Like my father, Nijima-san?” said Goro. “Like Kaneshiro, and Madarame? Like you?”

“Don’t compare me with those monsters.”

“Then stop defending them to my face with such a paltry excuse.” His lip curled. “We’re doing what you do, better than you ever could. So much so you’re reduced to skulking around, threatening  _mere children_ like me on speculation and assumptions alone. How do _you_ justify yourself? Do you think that because  _you’re_ a prosecutor, you can get away with this?”

“I,” said Nijima Sae, but if Goro continued he was going to damn himself even further and possibly get himself shot.

So he said: “I’m going to walk out of this diner right now. You, nor anyone associated with you are not going to follow me. Goodbye, Nijima-san.”

And stood up and left.

* * *

 **Goro** : Everyone at Leblanc now.  
**Goro** : Emergency meeting.  
**Goro** : Nijima knows.  
**Goro** : Was this close to arresting me.  
**Ryuji** : Holy shit.  
**Ann** : What do we do?  
**Makoto** : Oh my God.  
**Makoto** : I’m so sorry.  
**Ann** : It’s not your fault.  
**Futaba** : Miss prosecutor has it out for us bad.  
**Futaba** : What the hell is her deal?  
**Goro** : Kaneshiro is dead.  
**Futaba** : WHAT?  
**Ryuji** : Christ is everything we’re doing about to be sabotaged?  
**Haru** : Goro, are you alright?  
**Goro** : Yes, thank you for asking.  
**Goro** : I’m sorry to have put everyone in this position.  
**Goro** : In the end, I’m the one who got us caught.  
**Haru** : Please don’t say that.  
**Ann** : Yeah we’ll figure it out together.  
**Goro** : I’m asking Kurusu to come as well.  
**Futaba** : ?????????????????  
**Futaba** : Bro do you even know what you’re doing right now?  
**Goro** : No.  
**Goro** : But Nijima thinks he’s one of us.  
**Goro** : Better he get it from us than her.  
**Yusuke** : The cat’s out of the bag then.  
**Ryuji** : Well this is a fucking nightmare.  
**Goro** : I’m sorry.  
**Makoto** : We’ll get through this.  
**Ann** : What do we do now?

* * *

“Hey, Boss,” Akira said as he entered Leblanc and found it empty. “Is, uh, Akechi - “

“Upstairs,” the man grumbled as he wiped the counters. “Honestly, they’ve been going at it for an hour now. And now  _you’re_ involved too?”

“Yeah, well - “ Akira grinned feebly. “At least I’m hanging out with people my own age?”

“There is that,” Boss admitted. “Come on, get up there already. I’ll get you something to drink later.”

“Thanks.”

The attic was rumbling with voices even as Akira creaked up the stairs and saw them all clustered around a table. There Goro was, looking off-kilter for once, his hands subtly twisting at his sides; the two blonds Sakamoto and Takamaki, Kitagawa a stoic as ever; Nijima Makoto with the same tense posture as Sae-san, only a pinch less refined; Isshiki Futaba, grumbling in a chair with a laptop over her knees; a girl with short auburn hair and a puffy pink sweater who could only be Okumura Haru, and the cat Morgana, sitting atop the table and saying, “Futaba, did you get anything from her phone yet? We need to know if she’s going to try and arrest us soon - “

Takamaki saw Akira first, and clapped a hand over Morgana’s mouth. “Oh my God! Hey, Kurusu-kun! How are you - “

“The cat can talk,” said Akira. “And all of you are the Phantom Thieves. I know.”

The entire group stared at him in dumbfounded silence. Goro had a look on his face as if an ant was biting him below the ankle. Several ants.

“I’m sorry about this, Akira,” he said. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”

“Why, what’s up?” He approached. “Apart from whatever trouble you seem to be in. Need some help?”

Nijima made a strangled noise in her throat, while Kitagawa kept his gaze slow and careful and unblinking on Akira. Was this his competition? Really?

“Yes,” Goro said, and looked down at his hands. “We do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Edit: I had to tweak the ending to the Warden scene since... umm, it's important later. He's not supposed to shoot Okumura lol.)
> 
> Hello all. It me, who took a three-day break from this fic and felt like dying due to the guilt lol. What have I been doing? Welp, looking at cute fanart, of course, chillin', and... writing a 15-page outline for the various fics I have planned after this is over. I hope y'all are going to be ready for the Year of Kitaake soon.
> 
> Yeah I pretty much don't like this chapter lol. The Yusuke & Ryuji scene is the only one I think is decent. I've been sleeping on Ryuji this whole fic bc unfortunately I'm just not a fan of him (and the game does him no favours as a character). Hopefully you like it too. Goro can't be the center of everyone's universe alas.
> 
> Oh... and for those loving/hating the triangle, don't worry. Akira might be a little mean to Yusuke now but that's because his heart is... distorted, and Yusuke is definitely wary of Akira, but someone with his moral compass will not let things go by unsaid. He's going to pick at Akira like he did with Goro during the Medjed arc. Conversations about morality will be had. At the end of this they might even turn out friends.
> 
> Next time: the Thieves pick their next target in Nijima Sae, Tokyo prosecutor. Akira joins the team, and Joker is suitably impressive. Goro contemplates becoming a hermit to avoid getting arrested, and the rampage incidents mark their latest victim in dramatic fashion. 
> 
> Also, how nice of the AO3 post editor to accuse a 8k chapter of having not enough characters to be posted...


	18. Prove your justice to society V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody has a heart-to-heart in this chapter, and the world chugs along.

**18\. Prove your justice to society V**

"So," said Kitagawa. "When did you find out?"

Akira wagged a finger. "I already gave you that much. Quid pro quo."

"Really, Akira?" said Goro, looking monstrously frustrated. "Now's not the time for games."

"Well, you all want to change Sae-san's heart, right?"

Nijima junior started. "How did you know - "

"Phantom Thieves? It's kind of your MO?" He looked around. There was nowhere to sit. At least Goro was standing too, though sandwiched in between Sakamoto and Kitagawa.

"... yeah," said Sakamoto. "What's it to you?"

"What do you want to know?" said Goro.

"Everything," said Akira. The boy stiffened.

"Just give him what he wants," Isshiki muttered. "Not like we're getting anywhere otherwise."

"Alright." Goro rolled his neck, keeping his gaze on Akira as he did so, which was strangely attractive and triggered something deep in his lizard brain. "What do you know about the Metaverse?"

Akira felt his phone in his pocket, pulled it out. "Enough to know I can get to it via this app."

The whole group jolted. "Wait, how'd you get that - "

"You must have a Persona, then."

"How long have you had it?" said Goro.

"It showed up on my phone sometime last year."

"Before us," said Takamaki.

" _We_  only got it in April," Sakamoto said. "Well, Akechi had it first, and then it showed up on mine and Ann's after we went into Kamoshida's Palace together. What the hell got you yours?"

Akira shrugged. "If I knew I wouldn't be pestering you guys for answers. One day everything was normal, the next day it was there."

"Have you ever used it?" Okumura said.

"Of course he has," Kitagawa said before Akira could answer. "That's how he solves his cases as the Third Eye. Am I not correct?"

"Guilty as charged."

"What! So you're not even a real detective?"

"It's the same thing we do, Ryuji," Goro said. "Although it does explain why you're so vague in interviews about how you actually work."

"Thanks for the defense there," Akira said sourly. "The point is I'm helping people. Does it matter what my methods are so long as it gets done?"

"That depends, doesn't it?" Nijima said, hand on her temple as she eyed him. "The Phantom Thieves change people's hearts so they'll come to their senses and do the right thing. What do  _you_  do, Kurusu-kun?"

"Well, I'm definitely not killing people," Akira said.

" _Akira_ ," Goro said. "Don't be glib."

Fine. He dragged a hand through his hair. "I do the change of hearts too, yeah. It's just - that stuff's always made me uncomfortable. I honestly prefer kicking the shit out of monsters over it."

"Uncomfortable? How?"

"Monsters? You mean Shadows?" said Morgana.

"Whatever you want to call them." He closed his eyes. "Look, I support the Phantom Thieves. Always have, so I'm not going to pretend anything here's a deal breaker. Everything's so... messed up to begin with that getting worked up over a change of heart is stupid. There are real shitheads out there who never get any kind of real justice for what they've done to people, so..."

"But it works and you know it," Goro said. "You're the one who changed Nakanohara's heart, didn't you?"

Kitagawa flinched in his seat. Had he not known? Wow. Maybe the two of them didn't share everything.

"Yeah," Akira said. "And it paid off. Aren't we lucky he was willing to tell us everything, huh?"

"Hey, asshole, stop stirring the pot," Isshiki snapped. "We want to help your stupid ass so you don't end up in jail. Don't be a dick."

"... sorry."

"Kurusu-kun, do you have a Persona?" said Nijima. "It'll be much easier for us to go through Sis' Palace if you do."

"Palace?"

"Come  _on_ , you don't even know what a Palace is?" 

"If it weren't for Goro, none of us would have known about it either," Kitagawa said. "Hostility is unwarranted."

Goro nodded. "And it was only because of Morgana I learned about Palaces to begin with. They're manifestations of extreme distortion in a person's heart rendered into a physical space in the Metaverse. Surely you've been to one, Akira?"

"Once or twice. But I mostly spend time in the subway world. It's a lot easier to get in and out."

"You mean Mementos," said Morgana.

"All on your own? Yeesh." Isshiki grimaced. "At least we have the Mona bus."

"You have a bus?" Akira scowled. "Well, that explains a lot."

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet," she drawled. "Hey! Why not go to Mementos now? You show us yours, we'll show you ours. It'll be a big ole happy family!"

" _If_  we can even leave Leblanc without getting arrested," said Takamaki.

"I think we're safe for now." Goro frowned. "Nijima-san didn't refute me when I accused her of trying to make the Phantom Thieves case on her own. She doesn't have official authority on this - at least not yet."

"Luckily that's where _I_  come in!"

"We should still be careful," Kitagawa said. "Especially you, Makoto."

"I know." The girl looked defeated. "I don't know how I'm going home tonight and trying to pretend to Sis nothing's happened since yesterday."

Goro twisted his mouth the moment she said it. What did  _that_  mean?

"If it's a protection detail we need," Okumura said. "I can have someone pick us up in half an hour."

"Really?" said Takamaki, wide-eyed. "Wait - what if the cops try to take us in - "

Okumura shook her head. "We'll be safe," she said, and that was that.

"Make the call," Goro said.

The tension eased somewhat at everyone knowing they wouldn't be snatched out of the streets. "Yo, private eye," said Isshiki. "While we're waiting, tell Sojiro to make us some curry."

"Is this a hazing ritual?" Akira said.

"Nah. I'm just hungry. Going to Mementos always works up the appetite."

"Dude, you sit around in a UFO all day while the rest of us actually do shit," Sakamoto hissed. "What do you need dinner for?"

"Brain power, bonehead!" Isshiki gave him the finger. "Also, that was Necronomicon.  _Prometheus_  is more like an alien planet - "

"Come on, Akira," Goro said. "Let's go down."

* * *

The first floor of the cafe was blessedly quiet in comparison to the bickering upstairs, and as the two of them waited for Boss to warm up curry for eight plus people (did Morgana eat curry? Would it be weirder if he didn't?), Goro kept rubbing the spot behind his ear as he sat on a stool, and Akira couldn't stop staring.

"So," he said, unable to think about anything appropriate at the moment. "That must have been tough."

Goro flinched... and wow, he looked tired as hell. His brown hair was unkempt, loose hairs everywhere; he had shadows under his eyes, his hands would not sit still, and one of the suspenders on his uniform had fallen off his shoulder, and  _no_ , Akira did not have permission to sling it back over.

(Why did he keep thinking like this? What was wrong with him?)

"What was?" Goro said, sidling a glance at Boss at the same time. Who deliberately had his back to them and had probably come under short-term deafness.

"The conversation with your friends," Akira said. "And Sae-san. All of today... and before."

"... it  _has_  been a long day. All I've been doing is talking, and yet it feels like my head's going to split open."

"We don't have to go then. To Shibuya Station."

"No, no - " Goro shook his head. "We don't have time to delay things while we still don't know what's going on. Everything's coming up at the same time all of a sudden, and Futaba's supposed to be on her class trip in only a few days. We have to get everything done while we can, yet - yet - how is any of this going to work?"

This wasn't the same person who had been quietly grilling him upstairs. Nor was it the same boy who could so casually snap back and forth with him when they were out on an information hunt together. It wasn't the salty overworked student who had almost bit his head off for suggesting Becky give him a completely platonic massage, or the well-spoken charmer at the TV station.

It wasn't even the boy who had almost walked out on Akira when they were getting Fufu-chan together, but fussed over him nonetheless after - gave him proper First Aid with his tongue between his teeth and his nose scrunched up in concentration, and made Akira fall a little in love.

He didn't know if Goro was ever this honest or vulnerable with anyone else, and wanted, impossibly, selfishly, to keep this part of him all to himself.

"Hey," he found himself saying, because he was a softie at the end of the day. "You have me. I'm a part of your shenanigans now. You don't have to do it all yourself."

"Who said I did?" Goro frowned. "Akira, if you must know, the main reason we're in this complicated situation now is because of me. I lost my cool with Nijima-san - "

"You, losing your cool? Never."

"Impossible to imagine, isn't it?" he said, smiling despite the inanity of Akira's comment. "I've put you in a terrible situation too. I have an obligation to fix it."

"Yeah," said Akira. "But what did I just say? You think I'm going to let you mope your way into more self-inflicted suffering by putting even more ridiculous burdens on yourself? I want to help you. I've  _wanted_  to help you all this time. You just haven't let me."

If Akechi Goro was a simpler person, the person he appeared to be at first sight, then at second, he would have been happy at that statement. Pleased, to have someone recognize his martyr's complex, the appeal that he should take a rest because he was doing too much for other people. Pleased to have someone get him, because no one else did. And pleased to have Kurusu Akira, who had his dream job, grasp his situation entirely - and after a little nudging, accept his help wholeheartedly and with only the hint of a small smile.

"I," Goro said, "don't think I've ever done anything to deserve your help, Akira."

He looked miserable.

"You have it anyway," Akira said, because if he stopped to think too much about it his chest was going to explode. "So take it before I get pissed and offer it to Sakamoto instead."

"Ryuji!" That made Goro finally laugh. "Absurd. He doesn't even like you. I mean - " Turning pink. "I shouldn't have said that."

"I get it," he said, stretching his legs. "Most people are intimidated by me the first time we meet. Naturally, they project that fear into dislike. It's only when they really get to know me that they discover - "

"Oh, Akira," Goro breathed in with his eyes closed, and Akira was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad fool of a teenager to find it as intriguing as he did, hearing his name slip out of Goro's mouth like silk through lazy fingers. "I was never intimidated by you."

"Well - uh - " Fuck, he could just feel his brain cells dying by the second. "I said most, didn't I?"

"Yes," Goro said, and and the warmth had come back into his face and made him alive again. "You did."

* * *

The curry was great.

Nine dirty dishes in the Leblanc sink later and a hurried conversation between Goro and Boss that Akira couldn't pick up, and they were off in two black chauffeured cars courtesy of Okumura. Takamaki, Sakamoto, Isshiki, and Kitagawa were in one car, while Akira was with Goro and Nijima junior and Okamura in the other, Morgana in Goro's lap and watching Akira with bright blue eyes like aquamarine and suspicion.

He was still a stranger to them. That was fine.

The ride to the station was in silence, but Nijima and Okumura made better company than the others. They were friendlier. He wouldn't forget that.

Nor the fact that Goro, squished in between Akira and Nijima in the back, appeared to have fallen asleep.

He looked good like this. Well, he always looked good, even with his old man get up half the time. Akira didn't know why he didn't dress more like people their age - Takamaki was plenty fashionable, and the whole group had modified uniforms save for Goro, who wore the entire Shujin getup as if he was modelling for the school store - turtleneck tucked in, suspenders, neatly pressed pants, and blazer.

Akira tried to remember the last time he had worn his uniform as dictated by dress code, and failed. Kurusu Akira never followed the rules to a tee, made a show of tweaking them even if just for show.

That was what made him  _him_ , after all.

* * *

"Oh yeah," Isshiki said as they were dropped off and presently huddling in a corner, the station too busy at the moment to just press a button and disappear into nowhere. "If you're gonna be part of the team, you'll need a code name."

"A what?" said Akira. Then he remembered. "Right.  _Oracle_."

"Keep it down!" Sakamoto grumbled. "Should we really be talking about this now?"

"Make it cool, private eye," she warned Akira. "Or we're gonna have problems."

"You do realize what your team name is, right?" 

"What's wrong with it?" said Takamaki. "I like it."

"Nothing's wrong with it. It's just... cheesy."

"Yeah, blame Crow," Isshiki muttered.

Akira turned to Goro, who was very studiously looking at his phone and nowhere else. " _That's_ your name? I thought you'd pick something more suave than that."

"It suits me just fine," the boy said stiffly - and alright, he was back in his shell.

"You should see his get-up though," Takamaki said with a giggle. "I'm Panther, by the way."

"Skull," said Sakamoto.

"I'm Queen," said Nijima. She gestured to Okumura and Kitagawa. "Noir, and Fox."

"And Mona," said Goro, scratching Morgana on the head. He glanced back up at Akira with a pink sheen. "Have you gotten an idea yet?"

Akira thought about it.

What suited him, in the end?

"I got it," he decided. "Call me Joker."

"Joker?" Isshiki looked amused. "I hate that I dig it. So annoying."

"Interesting choice. There's rarely more than one joker in a deck of cards. Nor are they often included in card games." Goro's gaze lidded. "I hope you're not implying anything by that, Akira."

"I'm implying that I'm special, Goro," he said. "What are  _you_  implying with a name like Crow?"

" _I'm_ about to imply that we're leaving you two behind," said Sakamoto. "Look, the station's clear. Go, go!"

The Thieves moved together as one, and Akira followed a step behind. As Goro gave one last look around the street and pressed the red-and-black button of the Metaverse Navigator App, Akira thought,  _come to me, Arsene._

And from the darkest recesses of his mind he heard a chuckle as old as centuries, and the husky response:

_Gladly, my trickster._

* * *

Yeah, the Phantom Thieves were the real deal.

Goro - Crow now, was wearing a red, gold and white suit with epaulettes and a cape reminiscent of a 19th-century European nobleman... which suited him obnoxiously well, now that he thought about it. That he had a knife of a nose attached to his mask was equally fitting. If Akira tried to flirt with him in this form, he'd probably get stabbed.

Panther had a bright red catsuit and a tail, as did Fox and his Japanese-inspired getup. Skull looked like a jacked-up biker, Queen as if she had modded a suit of armour and thrown out the dead weight; Oracle a certified geek with those heavy goggles and neon crocs; and Noir, dashing and elegant and French as a Japanese heiress with peach-auburn hair could be.

Mona was just... disturbing, to put it lightly. Akira had no idea how he even stood up with that lopsided head of his. He  _was_ a magical talking cat, after all.

And him?

"Hmm," said Crow. He was fighting back a Look. Whether of approval or judgment, well...

"Hey, I get it," Akira said, holding up his red gloved hands. "I was speechless the first time I saw myself in this too."

"You are way too full of yourself, private eye!" said Oracle, but with no bite in it. She was jealous. So jealous.

"It's so... thievish," said Panther. "I love it!"

Did she? "You should see Arsene," he said with a grin.

"Arsene? Is that your Persona?"

"Yeah, it's cool," Skull said with crossed arms. He was jealous too.

"It is a harmonious appearance," said Fox, which was probably the nicest thing Akira was going to get from him for a while. "As well as suiting your previous branding."

"Indeed," said Queen.

Noir, graceful that she was, curtsied, the feather on her hat dipping as she did. "I'm just glad we can work together on this."

"Looking  _cool_ , Joker," said Mona, and Akira decided the cat made sense, after all.

* * *

The Mona bus was a godsend. It zoomed past floors in a flash and ran over weak Shadows in a comically effortless bash to get down the escalators as soon as possible, and with only a brief lurch in motion for the passengers inside.

Fortunately for him the Thieves had a couple of targets in Mementos they hadn't gotten to recently, so this was going to be his trial session. Arsene was itching to show off in proper company, and so was he. Hearing about the others' Personas - that they only had one, and many of them recently transformed into their quote unquote ultimate selves - was fascinating. There was so much Akira didn't know.

 _It is good not to be so alone anymore, no?_  Arsene murmured. Akira bit back the urge to laugh, scold him.

_Stop it. I've never been alone and you know it._

" - yeah, Prometheus is pretty tight," Oracle was saying. "Nothing Crow has is so interesting, even if he has like a billion Personas to make up for it."

And then Akira's mind stopped altogether.

"You have  _multiple_ Personas?"

"I know, right!" She flung out a hand in dismissal. "Why him? He doesn't even deserve Robin Hood!"

"I'll gladly trade," Crow said, "if you'd like to have a strange man and a pair of bratty children taunting you in your dreams every other night."

"I'm still not convinced you're not just making the Velvet Room up," Oracle muttered. "Yo, Joker, you got anything like that?"

"Not as far as I know. You have dreams like this regularly?"

Crow frowned. "Unfortunately. It's how I first gained the ability to access the Metaverse." He rolled his eyes. "Igor told me to get a phone."

Igor. He didn't know that name.

"The app just showed up on our phones right away after we went to the Metaverse for the first time," Panther said from up front. "But senpai didn't even have a phone in the beginning! Could you imagine if you'd never gotten one?"

"It would have been a dull year indeed," Crow said, and smiled at Akira. "I'd have missed out on so much."

* * *

"Arsene,  _eigaon!"_  he snapped out, and the Shadow was eviscerated.

"I hate to say it," said Oracle's processed voice from inside Prometheus. "But that was pretty stylish, Joker. You're winning me over."

"Your Persona is impressive," Crow admitted, bangs sprawled over his mask from the exertion of fighting. "It must have been a nightmare going through Mementos all by yourself."

"Yeah, me and the rest areas have become very good friends over the months." Akira tugged his gloves back into place. "You guys are good, though. Seriously."

"What do you mean  _we?"_  said Panther. "You're one of us now too, Joker!"

Joker.  _Joker_. It sounded good coming out of her mouth, it sounded good coming out of everyone's mouths. The only problem yet was Crow had yet to say it. Not that Akira was paying attention, but -

"Yo, we're heading out." Skull jerked his head towards the swirling vortex that led back to the rest of Mementos. "Showtime's over."

* * *

"Makoto, are you safe going home?" was the first thing Crow said when he was Goro again. "Perhaps it would be better if you stayed over at one of our - "

"I can't." She shook her head. "If Sis knows, then me running away like this is even more suspicious. I'll just... have to convince her somehow, that what we're doing is right."

" _While_ we're planning to change her heart behind her back." Kitagawa folded his hands in front of him. "Nijima-san does have a Palace, doesn't she?"

"... she does." Nijima younger looked defeated. "We'll just have to handle it at the same time."

"Uh huh," said Isshiki. "So, Akechi, you want me to get out of the school trip or what?"

"Your mother will hang me if I let our work interfere with the rest of your life." Goro pursed his lips. "You being gone for four days should -  _might_ \- should be fine."

"I'll keep a look out then." She stretched. "Alright, let's spread out! No one get kidnapped, okay?"

There was no need to worry. Okumura's men drove them all home. Akira included.

* * *

 **Akira** : That was fun.  
**Goro** : I'm glad you enjoyed it.  
**Akira** : (￣▽￣)ノ  
**Goro** : I have to ask...  
**Goro** : Are you really okay with changing Nijima-san's heart?  
**Goro** : I know your feelings about this.  
**Akira** : She's going to arrest you if we don't, right?  
**Goro** : The entire PT. Which includes you now.  
**Akira** : Yeah.  
**Goro** : That doesn't mean you can't feel conflicted about it.  
**Goro** : In the end, we ended up not changing Isshiki-san's heart when we were fighting against Medjed.  
**Akira** : How did you fix it then?  
**Goro** : Honestly? We brought her into the Metaverse by accident.  
**Akira** : ?????????  
**Goro** : I'll tell you more later, but that day the thugs cornered us, we used the App to get to safety.  
**Goro** : It was incredibly risky, so don't try it on a whim.  
**Goro** : We fought Isshiki-san's Shadow and only won because Futaba awakened her Persona and saved us.  
**Goro** : That isn't going to happen every time we're in a tight spot.  
**Akira** : I get it.  
**Akira** : Plus Sae-san's the type who'd be even more motivated if she discovered the Metaverse was real.  
**Goro** : Right.  
**Goro** : I truly feel sorry for Makoto however.  
**Akira** : Sae-san won't put the screws on her own sister.  
**Goro** : Wouldn't that make her even more corrupt, then?  
**Akira** : If you could, wouldn't you do the same?  
**Goro** : If I was in her position I hope I would never succumb to such hypocrisy.  
**Goro** : A prosecutor like her can't just do what she wants for some one-sided concept of "justice".  
**Goro** : Otherwise, what reason do the rest of us have to follow the rules?  
**Akira** : So you'd arrest your own family if they were a criminal?  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:**  Well.  
**Goro** : First off, you're presuming that I have any family to speak of, much less care about in this world.  
**Goro** : Secondly, I sincerely hope I'd be more motivated to uphold justice than protect someone who's caused serious harm to people.  
**Akira** : Dude...  
**Akira** : You'd arrest Santa Claus for breaking and entering if you could.  
**Goro** : I hadn't thought of that.  
**Goro** : Hmm...  
**Akira** : I was joking!  
**Goro** : And I wasn't?   
**Goro** : In all seriousness, though...  
**Goro** : What would you do, Akira?  
**Goro** : Your entire work as the Third Eye has been about protecting people who've been mistreated or neglected by the authorities.  
**Goro** : Wouldn't you become the kind of person you hate if you let a criminal get away just because you care about them?  
**Akira is typing...**  
**Akira:**  I would.  
**Akira** : Which is why I'm lucky none of my friends are criminals.  
**Goro** : Ha ha.  
**Goro** : Well, we're all speaking hypothetically after all.  
**Goro** : Even thieves need a sense of honour.  
**Goro** : And despite what I just wrote, I'm not a cop or a detective.  
**Goro** : My motivations are different than theirs.  
**Goro** : So don't worry.  
**Goro** : Keeping the Phantom Thieves safe is my top priority.  
**Goro** : None of you are ever going to jail because of me.  
**Akira is typing...**  
**Akira** : Aw, you're making me blush.  
**Akira** : If I'd known how cute you really were behind that mask I'd have joined the team much earlier.  
**Goro** : ?  
**Goro** : What about what I just said was cute...?  
**Akira** : Never mind.  
**Akira** : It's just... you're pure.  
**Akira** : Seriously.

* * *

The walk from the elevator to the apartment door was the longest of Nijima Makoto's life.

She'd dreaded walks like this before - the day the old house no longer made sense to live in, when they only used two bedrooms out of four and Sae couldn't afford the mortgage on her rookie prosecutor's salary; when Makoto got lost on her new commute the first day of school and came home an hour later than she was supposed to, only to discover a magnetized note on the fridge telling her Sae would be coming home late; the days of inadequate exam scores, when nothing in her head fit right and all the words and concepts she once knew spilled out of her with every breath and nothing was left but a bundle of nerves and her own insecurity.

There had been joyful walks too; the day Makoto got into Shujin, the family's legacy; her first 100% in English, her weakest subject; when she was elected to Student Council; when Principal Kobayakawa praised her, called her the best student the school had ever had. But somewhere along the way, even those accomplishments had become paltry when Sae came home, and was undeterred.

You should study more. Work harder. Show a better face, Makoto. Don't ask so many questions. You know I can't do that. Things are hard enough. This case is important to me. Can't you do it by yourself? You're almost an adult now. Life isn't going to get any easier from here on.

No, it didn't.

Even now, did Sae really know anything about her?

Had they always been like this? When had it first begun?

A death in the family could tear anyone apart. Two - well.

Their relatives praised them for being strong. But no one offered to take Makoto in, give Sae an easier time of things. Blood was thicker than water, after all. You couldn't separate siblings like this. Not if you were a monster.

Abruptly she wondered if it would have been better for both of them if she had gone away a year or two to a different city under someone else's eye. Like the arrangement Goro had with Boss - and judging from the way he spoke of his former life, it seemed to have gone well for him.

Even with all...  _this_ , in the end.

Her keycard was in her wallet. She couldn't seem to get it out. Makoto stood in front of her own apartment door, and was paralyzed.

 _Are you afraid now?_  whispered Anat in the darkest corners of her mind.  _Will you cower? Will you flee from those who call you ally just to save yourself?_

 _You doubt me too easily_ , Makoto thought, and unlocked the door and stepped forward.

Inside, Sae was waiting for her at the dining table. In front of her were a dozen files spread all over the glass surface. There were photographs attached to some of them. Goro. Ann. Yusuke. Ryuji. Futaba. Kurusu. ( _Akira_ , Goro called him, like it was natural.)

Even her.

(Only Haru was missing. Sae didn't know.)

"Makoto," Sae said. "Let's talk."

And so Nijima Makoto sat down, and talked.

* * *

"When did it start?" said Sae. "When did you become one of them?"

Her glossy hair had lost its sheen in the haze of night. The polish was chipped on one of her pinky fingers. Her eyeliner was faintly smudged in one corner. She was almost bent over the table, leaning on her elbows for support.

She looked worn out.

Makoto's hands were clammy in her lap. "I don't know, Sis. That depends on what you're going to do with that information."

"Makoto, please. Are you aware just exactly who you're associating with?"

"We're not criminals," she said, and felt Queen come into her, and with it Anat's silent approval.

"Criminals?" Sae scowled. "How can you be so confident saying that? Aren't you aware of what you and your friends have done?"

"Why," said Makoto. "What have we done that's so terrible?"

"Have you forgotten breaking and entering into Isshiki Wakaba's office already - "

"Yes, that." She crossed her arms. "We've been over it. What about the Thieves do you find so objectionable?"

"We're  _not_ over that, Makoto."

"Isshiki-san doesn't want us charged for it, and we were nearly made victims of assault or worse by Kaneshiro's men. You keep picking at it because it's the only shred of evidence you have of us doing something, but it doesn't prove anything in the end. Admit it, you're only after us because your last two cases petered out - "

"Madarame killed himself and Kaneshiro was murdered!" Sae slammed her hands on the table, and the file with Goro's photo jumped. "What am I supposed to do with  _that_ , Makoto? Two of the Phantom Thieves' biggest targets die in police custody, and I'm not supposed to think that's suspicious?"

Makoto refused to budge. "By that logic, it's not the Thieves you should be investigating. We did our jobs. Why couldn't the police do  _theirs_ \- "

"Makoto," Sae said, and her voice was ice. "Don't you dare."

 _Don't quail now,_  Anat warned her.  _You have not come so far to be impeded by a mere human such as this._

_She is my sister, Anat. Not just some mere human._

_Will you fear her still, though? Will you cower?_

Nijima Makoto often did. But Queen? Never.

Makoto let out a sigh. "I don't get it, Sis. You know better than I how corrupt the police can be. They let Kaneshiro get away with operating in Shibuya for years. And Madarame - what about all the allegations from his former pupils? It's impossible to believe none of them went to the cops over the years. Were they ever investigated?"

"They were," Sae said in a tight voice. "And evidence was never found of mistreatment or abuse."

Evidence. That word again. Makoto said, "Bruises heal. And people..." She gritted her teeth. "Sometimes lie, because they don't see how telling the truth will get them out of the hole they're in when all it's done has hurt them all their lives."

"You want me to play along? Fine." Sae's nostrils flared. "When there's no physical evidence and no one will corroborate the accusations you're looking into, what do you do? How do you make a case when no one will cooperate with you - not your target, not the victims, not even your higher-ups who'll get rid of you in an instant if you make the prosecutors' office look incompetent? When the media's digging around demanding you confirm rumours you've never heard of, and your own sister's running around with a pack of wild teenagers who think they can do anything they want without consequence - where does that leave someone like me, Makoto?"

Makoto swallowed.

"I don't know."

"So there it is." Sae closed her eyes. "You're as full of judgment as everyone else I know, but when it comes to answers I have no one to rely on but myself. You want me to trust you - believe you that the Phantom Thieves are just despite everything I've seen so far suggesting you choose your targets out of spite and revenge alone. Am I to applaud you for saving your own skins?"

"When saving our own skins means surviving in a world that doesn't want us to otherwise," Makoto said, "then, yes, and gladly. I won't apologize for that."

Sae shook her head, then froze. "What do you mean - you too? Were you ever in danger?"

Goro hadn't told her the whole truth about Kaneshiro, then. Makoto considered hiding it from her.

Anat murmured,  _sink the knife in deeper._

"I... went looking for Kaneshiro back in June," she said. "So many of Shujin's students were ensnared into his blackmail scheme, and I wanted to put an end to it."

"My God. You didn't." Sae looked flabbergasted. "What did you think you could do on your own?"

"Goro helped me." Makoto bit her lip. "I already had suspicions he was a Phantom Thief, and he always agreed to my requests at school. So we went digging around, and went to Shibuya one day. We used ourselves as bait, and we got caught."

And so, the story unfolded out of her in clumsy, awkward chunks, for it had been a long time since she had thought about that incident. Even now the memory made her shudder. How the ropes itched against her wrists, the vile stank of the car trunk they were encased in, every rough turn and speed hump pelting their prone bodies with further agony and humiliation.

Unlike Goro, they hadn't banged her up. Even so, the threat from Kaneshiro had churned up her stomach and made her want to wretch.

If she'd been alone - if he'd only been the passive-aggressive brainiac he seemed at first sight and nothing more -

\- if the Phantom Thieves hadn't been around -

\- what would have happened to her then?

There was no need to imagine up wild hypotheticals. Reality was cruel enough.

"... reckless," Sae said, when it was over and neither of them were looking at each other. "When did you become this reckless, Makoto?"

She shrugged.

"I'm happy now," she said. "I know you hate it. I know you think it's crazy I would get tangled up in something like this, but the Thieves - what we're doing feels right. You say we're doing this for revenge alone, and maybe that's the truth. But you should look at our targets and tell us we were wrong to strike back at them. When the police don't do anything - when  _you_ can't do anything despite wanting to - what should the rest of us do? I can't accept that our only choice left is to accept the injustices of the world and suffer in silence. Not when I still have the power to move mountains."

_Very good. Show her who you truly are._

"Move mountains?" Sae said finally. "You mean changing people's hearts."

"Yes."

"I want to know how you do it. You're just teenagers. What power do you and your friends have to compel such men to turn themselves in like this? What are you still hiding from me?"

"I'd like to tell you," Makoto said. "But I can't. Not until I know what you'd do with the knowledge."

Sae snorted. "A negotiation, is it? Do you still think you have the upper hand on me on this?"

Makoto alone? No. But including the Thieves, it was eight (nine now, a guilty part of her mumbled) versus one.

Versus the entire judicial system of Japan and versus the man they were going to take down sooner or later, Shido Masayoshi.

Goro's father.

"I can't make you do anything," Makoto said. "But in the same vein, neither can you make  _me_  do anything."

"I can't?" Sae said.

They stared at each other for a long time without word, without thought. Anat unfurled and stretched in Makoto's mind, luxuriated in her proud and insolent way.  _Now you show her what a Queen's mettle is made of_ , and Makoto thought:

_Hush._

Sae looked down first.

"If you must know," she said in a low voice. "Despite my suspicions, I've yet to go to my superiors with my accusations. They'd have you all arrested in a heartbeat, of course. The Thieves have made a mockery of the police and everything the judicial system is meant to stand for. It wouldn't matter if you were teenagers. You all forfeited the right to be deemed as minors when you chose to throw your hand into the world of adults and play with people's lives.

"Yes. Even you. I won't be able to do anything to protect you once you're in the system, Makoto."

"I know," Makoto said. "So why haven't you done it yet?"

Sae didn't answer.

"Give us time," she said. "Please."

Sae still wasn't looking at her, but down at the files - at Goro, at Kurusu and Yusuke, at Ann and her and Ryuji and Futaba, her gaze dark and heavy in judgment.

One could debate the Thieves' sense of ethics. They still didn't deserve what could happen to them next.

(Did they?)

"I'm sure I'll be assigned to a new case soon," Sae said. "One that no doubt will relate to your previous busywork... and inevitably have the prize snatched from my hands yet again when the suspect perishes in jail of their own supposed accord." She smiled, and it was bitter, like the coffee at Leblanc she used to partake in. Goro always said Sae liked it without sugar. "It's beginning to feel like a rigged game, isn't it?"

The tip of Makoto's tongue touched her front teeth. "We're not the ones rigging it."

"No." Sae twisted her fingers together in a cruel lacing. "You're merely... tweaking it in your own favour. And I wonder, where does that leave someone like me? Am I another hapless gambler, ignorant to the schemes around me, or am I the dealer? Am I middle management, Makoto?"

"I don't know, Sis," said Makoto. "Only you know what's really going in in your mind."

Anat laughed.

"Perhaps that's right." Sae pursed her lips. "Very well. I'll give you time then. Three weeks."

"What? But that's so - "

"Don't play me for a fool," she snapped. "I don't know who your next target is, but your friends seem the restless type. Whatever you're scheming now, tell them to put an end to it and get their lives in order. Even better - have Akechi or Kurusu turn themselves in, and I'll be lenient on the rest of you. You're not the masterminds, after all."

Even now.

Even now, she was going to press this...?

 _Watch_ , spake Anat _, and observe how a Queen separates herself from a jester. How she condescends, how she presumes her own path is narrow and straight and yours a winding curve that slopes only down to hell. She is lost! Lost!_

Anat was right.

"Three weeks is enough time for everything we need," Makoto said. "Thank you."

"Don't take this lightly. I mean it."

"I understand." Makoto got up; her legs were sore. "Do you want me to help you clear the files, then?"

"No - I'll study them for a bit longer." Sae glanced at the clock. "It is late however. Perhaps we should just order takeout."

"I'll cook," she said quickly. "It's been a while since we last ate together."

"It has." Her sister looked thoughtful. "Very well. Go ahead."

Makoto turned to head to the kitchen, then stopped. "One last thing," she said. "Do you think Dad would be proud of us? Of this?" When Sae said nothing: "The situation we're in."

Sae didn't smile.

"I think he would understand the different ways we look at the world, and how we approach problems as a result," she said. "Myself as a prosecutor, and you as... well, the role you've chosen right now."

Oh.

"But also," said Sae. "I think he'd want us to get along. No matter what."

Said the woman who was going to have Makoto and her friends arrested in three weeks' time.

"Alright," said Makoto, and smiled. "Thanks. I was just curious."

And walked away.

* * *

Once they got the confirmation from Makoto, Futaba's trip was a go, and she dragged Akechi over to the apartment for last minute packing. He would have just moped around anyway over the Plan, and a sad moping Akechi, while a rare creature who ought to be photographed for historical purposes, was also hard to dislodge from his throne of self-pity and despair. At the very least mad Akechi was good to prod for a joke or two.

So Futaba set him to organizing her socks by colour instead, and gnawed on Cheetos while he did, citing dusty fingers as the reason she was on the couch and not... helping.

"Man," she said. "Seems like we were worried for nothing. The cops don't actually know about us! We don't have to use the secret service anymore. Actually, losing it is gonna be a bummer."

"The less eyes on us, the better," Akechi muttered. "Taking it everywhere would have been absurd."

"Yeah, but that's because you're in like ten different locations in a day." Futaba curled her toes. "Me, it would have been a dream come true. Home, school, Leblanc, home, and we're done! Plus, no more having to crowd around the train for a seat or worry about pervs."

"Okumura-san's been very generous to us," he admitted, folding a shirt of hers and placing it inside her suitcase.

"Haru," Futaba said. "Call her  _Haru_ like everyone else. Why do you always have to be a weirdo and wait for permission first?"

"... because that's polite, Futaba?"

"Ha!" She snorted. "You're not polite. You're actually the rudest person I know."

"Based on  _what?"_

"Have you forgotten the 'kidnap Futaba from school' strategy already? People are still asking me about that crap and it's been months. It's gotten even worse since Inari's got nothing better to do at lunch than bother me and - "

"That's right." Akechi looked up. "You and Yusuke do spend time together now."

"I don't know if it's as much spending time as him nagging me about the nutritional balance in my bentos and me trying not to kick his ass," Futaba gnawed on a nail. "He's awful high and mighty for a guy you said was munching on bean sprouts only a few months ago."

"First off, Yusuke only munched on bean sprouts because he had to spend his bursary on art supplies to keep his scholarship. He wasn't starving himself for fun. And secondly, he nags you because he cares, Futaba."

"Gross," said Futaba.

He ignored her. "How is he as of late? Does he seem different to you?"

Where was this coming from? Didn't they live joined to the hip or something? "You ask him," she mumbled. "He's your boyfriend."

"He's not - " Akechi turned red, and yeah, some mad Akechi was going to peek out soon if she kept going. "Don't be childish. We're not together, and we're not going to be."

"Well, it's either him or Kurusu. And between you and me, I'd pick the guy who probably  _isn't_ secretly going to kill us if we get in his way."

Goro pressed his lips. "I don't think Akira's like that. He's just... lost."

Lost like a lamb in a field of rotting flowers, maybe. "He's dangerous," she said, in a quieter voice. "How much of what you think he told us at Leblanc was even true?"

Akechi looked helpless. God, but he was an idiot, and way too into his feelings to be rational about this. "It didn't seem entirely suspicious."

"Uh huh. The part where he said the Nav App just came to him one day was totally not suspicious." She sucked on a finger, licked it clean of orange dust. "Speaking of, you never got my program onto his phone, did you?"

"Unfortunately," said Akechi. "Akira's affection has yet to let him allow me to tinker with his phone while he's off somewhere saving more cats and taking Memento requests for us. Now that he knows we're listening in on Nijima-san too, it's too suspicious."

Yeah. For him, maybe.

"Your problem is," said Futaba. "You have way too much tact. I mean, you're awkward and all? But you know too much about social conventions and behaving properly to get away with the good stuff. Being an eager-to-please suck-up conformist is in your DNA. Me, on the other hand..."

"I'm terrified of where this conversation is going."

"I'll change the program. Make it something you don't have to physically put in." She frowned. "I mean, I do work in software. All I need to do is get my hands on his phone, act as zany as I usually do, and... voila."

"And what if you find nothing?"

"I'll..." Futaba squinted. "I'll give you two the blessing to your wedding or something. I don't know, what the hell do you want me to say? Even you used a burner phone when contacting me as Alibaba, and you didn't even  _know_  what phones were until I got you yours. If he's smart at all he's got to have a spare. Not that I'll be able to get that bugged unless you go to his place and search everything - "

"Even for us," Akechi said, "that seems like a wild invasion of privacy."

"We spy on people, dude." Futaba started putting up fingers. "We beat up mental cognitions of people and get them to confess their crimes in real life, which is cool but sounds incredibly bizarre when you say it aloud. Also, I'm pretty sure the Medjed guy is never working in programming again? Not that I have any idea what happened to him, since he vanished off the face of the planet after I exposed him. And we're about to kick your dad's ass in glorious fashion - "

"He can't win the election," Akechi said. "Not if anything we've been fighting for is going to mean anything in the end."

" - AND you of all people are potentially getting into a relationship with a smarmy melodramatic fucker who might just be behind the rampage incidents!" Futaba's fingers now made up the hand that could very easily slap Akechi back into his senses if he was persuadable to conversion via petty violence. (As Kaneshiro found out first hand, it was not.) "So let's not start acting like we're the white hats here!"

"... aren't we?" he said, then looked appalled at himself. "No, you're right. I'm being ridiculous."

"For good and for worse," said Futaba. "We're vigilantes. We're thieves. We're... light grey, in the best case scenario. We can't work outside of what society deems acceptable and still crave its approval like it's just... some disappointed parent who'll get over it if we show them an A+ paper or something. If we want validation, we're going to have to find it inside ourselves." She sighed. "Which sucks, I know. But we picked a hard route because we thought it was worth it, and sometimes there's no grand reward or treasure chest at the end of the tunnel. Just the knowledge that we did it for justice's sake... and maybe because we could."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions," said Akechi. "Do you know what that means?"

Futaba stared. "It's like one of the most common phrases ever, so yes."

"Oh."

"Don't get wrapped up in it too much, man." She groaned. "My head would explode if I was in your position, so I'm not one to talk, but seriously - you can lean into us if you have to. Don't walk that road alone just because you think you have to or because we wouldn't understand. I can see it already in your eyes. 'Oh, but Akira really gets me like no one else does', and 'if I just sweet talk him enough he'll tell me everything about his past and we'll solve it through hand holding and never have to fight at all' and - "

"Futaba," said he. "Just... stop. Please."

She fiddled with her phone for a bit. "It would be easier, wouldn't it, if he - hold on - "

She activated the Nav App and said into it, clearly: "Kurusu Akira."

_Target not found._

"If he had a Palace," Futaba said. "We could just go in there and flip a switch on him. Like that."

"We don't even have proof," Akechi said. "And you know that. If he was innocent, and we did that to him, we'd be monsters."

"Okay, so? A lot of people already think we're monsters."

"Not people we've cared about, surely." Akechi bit his lip. "Should we have just flipped a switch on your mother, Futaba? We wouldn't have had to talk to her, then, and - "

" _Hey_ ," she snapped. "My mom's not potentially a murderer. That's a big detail you're leaving out."

"... so he's too dangerous to be let alone. Is that what you're saying?"

"It's like the difference between trapping an injured animal and a rabid one."

"Both could wound you."

"Yeah. One could. And one  _would_." She scowled. "So don't get handsy until you find out which one is which, alright?"

"Fine," he said with the audacity to sound sullen about it.

"Oh, don't get me wrong though." She sagged back into the cushions. "Joker is still hella cool. Arsene, man. The style, the sass, the  _pizzazz_. It's almost too much."

"I'll let him know you said that, then," said Akechi, and dodged when Futaba threw a cushion at him.

* * *

Futaba went to New York, and Akechi Goro was not nervous.

* * *

 **Shiho** : Hey, Ann.  
**Shiho** : Can you come to the gym after school today?  
**Ann** : !!!  
**Ann** : Of course!  
**Shiho** : There's something I want to share with you.  
**Ann** : Anything for you :)  
**Shiho** : Thanks ;.;  
**Shiho** : You're the best.  
**Ann** : :D  
**Ann** : ok teacher coming brb  
**Shiho** : Yep! See you!

And so, Takamaki Ann found herself ambling through the Practice Building when she heard the telltale scraping of gym shoes against a hard wooden floor, the reverbing echo of balls being slammed to and fro, and a rumble of shouts and squeaks.

The gym door was open, and it was volleyball practice, and Suzui Shiho was at the farthest net from the door, panting and sweating, hair in her eyes.  _Heaving_ from the effort.

Ann stared.

A whistle blew.

"Take five!" shouted a middle-aged woman in a tracksuit. She must be the new volleyball coach. Ann didn't recognize her.

Everyone dispersed, wandering off to the sides for a water break. Shiho did too, and broke into a smile and run when she saw Ann, throwing herself at her.

"Hey! You came!"

"Uh, ye - yeah," Ann stuttered, hugging her back. Shiho smelled of sweat and salt and cherry shampoo. "You're doing volleyball again? I had no idea."

"Mm hmm." Shiho nodded, dragged her over to a wall where her water bottle was. "I was - I wanted to try it out first for myself. In case I - I - "

"Slow down first," Ann said. "Take a break."

Shiho gulped down half her water and wiped her face with a small towel. Her face was flushed and red and patchy, and more alive than Ann had seen in years. It was stunning.

"When I went to my grandparents' for the summer," she said in quick bursts. "My cousins asked me to play volleyball like we did before, but I didn't. I couldn't. Then - " She took in a great lungful of breath. "I got bored. There wasn't anything else to do except walk around or go on the computer all day, and I got sick of it. Sick of being scared of something I once loved. So, this - " She gestured to the nets set up all around the gym. "I wanted to make it mine again. See if it I still wanted it - and if it still wanted me."

"Yeah?" said Ann quietly. "And is it working?"

Shiho smiled at her. "I think it is."

Oh, goodness. She squeezed the girl's hand, then leaned over and hugged her. "I'm so glad," she whispered. "I want you to be happy, Shiho."

"Me too. I mean - I want you to be happy too, Ann. And... I'm grateful you came to see me on such short notice. I know how you busy you are nowadays."

"No, no, it's fine!" Ann buried her face in Shiho's shoulder. Even her practice shirt smelled nice. Butterflies woke in her stomach.

"Hey," she mumbled. "Do you think anyone would mind if we kissed right now?"

"Takamaki Ann!" Shiho laughed in shock. "Are you flirting with me? Really?"

Ann tilted her head up, batted blue eyes at her. "Can you blame me?"

"No," Shiho said, softening, her brown eyes like cocoa. "I guess I can't."

And kissed her girlfriend on the mouth, oblivious to the whistle blowing around them. The gym belonged to the volleyball team again, but the world was theirs alone.

* * *

"Oh! Hello, Ryuji." Haru waved as the second year joined her on the rooftop garden. "Akechi-kun couldn't come today?"

"Nah." Ryuji jammed his hands in his pockets, looking stiff. "He asked me to come help you, senpai, but you should know - I have no idea how to do this kind of stuff at all."

"It's fine, it's fine." She looked in her supply pail for the second pair of gloves Akechi-kun usually wore, passed them over to him. "It's mostly playing with dirt to begin with. Honestly, the learning curve is very small."

"Alright," he said, warming up, and took his blazer off before pulling his gloves on. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Well, the sun tomatoes should be ready to harvest today." She checked the firmness of one with her fingers. "Right. It's perfect."

"Aw, I love sun tomatoes," Ryuji blurted out. When Haru smiled at him knowingly, he coloured. "I mean - we've been eating them for months now. Even when you weren't a part of the team, Akechi always brought them on our runs. If we hadn't had them during the Palaces, we'd have been wiped out half a dozen times." He grinned sheepishly. "In a way you've been with us for a long time already."

To even think such a thing was possible. "I had no idea," she said. "I suppose I just imagined Akechi-kun made a great deal of caprese salad and consommé at home."

"Ah, yeah." Ryuji chuckled. "I've had some of his food before - and he's good, but not that good. By the way, what's a consommé?"

"A clarified soup," Haru told him, and they got to work.

Later, when the tomatoes were harvested and the new seedlings planted, they split a tomato in quarters and snacked on it with a dash of sea salt and green tea Haru had in a thermos.

"So," Ryuji said. "How's your dad doing? Is he okay?"

She wondered where to begin. "Well, I'm not sure how the change of heart process works, but he has been somewhat lethargic and quiet at home. Keeping mostly to his study and bedroom." Her brow furrowed. "Do the targets always seem to lose focus like that? He hasn't been going to work either. I've gotten a few concerned calls from his secretary, and I'm not sure how to answer them."

"That... doesn't sound too unnatural." Ryuji ran fingers through his short hair. "We did just change his entire way of thinking... how he sees himself as a person completely. Anyone who'd gone through that would want to slow down for a bit and think about what they've been doing before."

"Yes." Haru looked down at the school from the fence, what little of the city they could see from here. "I wonder how it feels from the inside. To feel your whole identity transform overnight. I don't know if I would be able to bear it myself."

"You'd have to. There's no other choice... is there?"

He looked uncertain. Haru smiled. She didn't want to worry him with queries such as this. The Phantom Thieves were just.

"Of course there isn't," she assured him. "In the end, everyone has to live with the choices they've made in life. We're just speeding up the process."

Even if it wasn't quite  _them_ who had to face the consequences, but perhaps someone else entirely.

No matter what happened from now on, Father was still Father, wasn't he?

* * *

On Thursday evenings such as these Goro took the evening train to Kanda and spent an hour or two playing shogi with Togo-san, who sat in Kosei's 2C and was a regular fixture in girls' magazines and morning TV shows. Yusuke often saw her alone during the lunch hour, sitting at an outside table in the Japanese garden and practicing shogi while a half-eaten bento sat beside her. In his lonelier days he had sometimes wanted to join her, but she looked as if her own company had been enough, and so he was deterred. He knew the silence of one who wanted to be left alone, though it had never been his own.

He had been mistaken. Togo-san hadn't wanted to be alone - she had been  _obliged_ to, with the pressure of fame her mother pushed onto her, rigging her matches and threatening her opponents. No wonder it built resentment towards her, even if she had been ignorant to it. She had benefited nonetheless, and now must atone in her own way.

Now only the truth was her friend, and Akechi Goro sat in the front row of the church quiet and alone.

Goro had never struck Yusuke as a religious person, and despite Kosei's Catholic background neither was Yusuke, who made his New Year's prayers like everyone else, and seldom considered religion otherwise. In this world, there was no higher power than cruelty, and fate. Or so he had always believed.

Goro sat with his eyes closed when Yusuke approached, and said, "May I sit down?"

The boy startled, looked up with bleary eyes. Had he been dozing off? "Hifumi-san...? No, what am I thinking? Please, sit down.

"I didn't know you knew about this particular haunt of mine," he said in a quiet voice when Yusuke joined him.

"It seems a good place for solitude."

"Solitude," Goro said. "And companionship." He gave a little glance, all the sadder for now it was uncertain when it wasn't before. "Are you doing better now?"

Yusuke only held out his hand, and after a long moment, Goro took it.

"I am. Everyone has been unimaginably kind to me the past while."

"Like we always should," Goro said, and looked straight ahead when his face flowered.

"When we first met," Yusuke said, because the boy wasn't saying anything else, "I never imagined you could be so full of heart. You were exceptionally cruel to me back then. Do you remember?"

"I - I was." Goro sighed. "I looked at you, and saw only myself in a different light. And I'm sorry for that. How I pushed you - presumed to know you better than yourself. If someone had tried that with me when I was vulnerable, I might have actually torn their face off. Instead - "

"Don't call me pure again, Goro," Yusuke said. "I'm not. You  _know_  I'm not. If all I ever knew in my life was sorrow and ignorance, if there was no wrath nor desire nor want in this open heart of mine, Goemon would have never awakened to me." He hesitated. "Nor Kamu Susano-o."

Goro shuddered. "So the set is finally complete."

Not quite. Goro was still missing his own, and Kurusu - well -

"I don't mind," he found himself saying. "If you have feelings for him."

"Him? My God." Goro was scarlet. "Yusuke, I - "

From another pew, a worshipper stared at them. Goro lowered his voice, though he looked no less flustered than before.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I did have feelings for you.  _I do._  It was unbearable, back with Kaneshiro, but - " He sucked in his lip. "Some part of me always felt it wasn't proper. That the relationship we had wasn't conducive to anything like - like this. For so long I saw you as an extension of myself, only one who was better, simpler, holier than me because you didn't seem to bear the same grudge against the world I did. I thought if I could shelter you - give you money, let you indulge in any whim you wanted when we were together, I was saving you from turning out like me. That in some perverse way, I was saving myself."

Yusuke squeezed his hand, tried not to let his own heart hurt. "But I'm not you. We share our similarities, but - "

"I know." Goro bent his head. "I realized that when you called me out when we were helping Futaba. No part of me would have ever been so honest as you were back then. It was quite devastating, actually."

"You wept," Yusuke said. He wanted to weep right now.

"As it turns out, I'm a fool where Futaba is concerned." Goro smiled uneasily. "And everyone else. When did I become so emotional? When did I start feeling like my world would end if everything didn't turn out alright? I never used to care like this."

"I'm afraid that's the price of having friends." Yusuke closed his eyes.

And loving someone who, despite everything you wanted to give him, didn't want to love you the same way you loved him.

Was there a feeling for something like this? A word, a memory? Could he put this in a painting? Would he ever be able to look at himself if he did?

He wanted to resent Kurusu for this. He really did. And Goro, for being so careless with his feelings, for wanting to grasp the dagger that could gut him blade-first -

But in the end, love wasn't a game. There was no other opponent, nor a prize to be won. Just people - and someone he called a dear friend.

Let it go. Love how you will, and take what is bestowed upon with you with generosity and a smile -

Be thankful, for even around you the world remains glittering, and open to opportunity.

By now, don't you know that you're no longer alone? Love comes in many forms, and no matter what happens next, you are still loved.

Yes, you.

Yusuke opened his eyes.

"In another world," he began.

"Another life, perhaps," Goro said.

"I believe..." Yusuke searched his words. "You would be an exceptional apprentice artist."

A snort. "That's not what I expected to hear."

"No?" He smiled. "I've heard it's best not to count one's chickens before they hatch. That's why I'll leave the rest of it unsaid."

"Even now, you're an absurd romantic." Goro shook his head, but now flush looked rosy. Perhaps he'd really thought Yusuke would hate him for this. He could never.

"Thank you," he added. "I'm glad you came to see me."

"Me too." Their hands were still warm together. Fit perfectly together. "Togo-san should be here soon, shouldn't she? Perhaps I should go."

"No, no. If it's all the same, I'd like you to stay."

"What should we do then, while we wait?"

"Sit here as friends," Goro said. "And watch the world continue to spin around us."

That sounded just as well. "That reminds me," Yusuke said. "You haven't taken me to the planeterium in a while."

"Now you're really pushing it," the boy muttered, but he was smiling, and Yusuke's heart tipped over into somewhere nearly half-full.

* * *

"Hey," Morgana said. "You're not nervous, are you?"

Kurusu looked shocked Morgana was even acknowledging him, but recovered with a glitzy smile and a shake of the head. "Not at all. I _have_ been in Palaces before." He lowered his tone. "So, does Isshiki have any plan to give me my phone back or what?"

"Number one rule of Phantom Thievery: Let Futaba do what Futaba wants."

"Well, okay then."

"That's how it is. Now come on!" he barked towards the rest of the team. "We look  _really_ suspicious loitering here like this, so can we get moving?"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Futaba thrust the phone back at Kurusu. "Thanks for letting me check out the specs. Your phone is really fancy."

"Uh... thanks? Not that I had a choice in it."

"Are we ready?" said Goro.

"No - "

He went on anyway. "Nijima Sae. Courthouse. Casino."

"This never gets any better," Ryuji grumbled, taking in a deep breath as the Nav App activated.

"Here we go," Nijima junior said, fists clenched at her sides as the Metaverse churned into reality around them.

"Whoa! Now this place is fancy," said Panther - wait,  _Panther?_

"Looks like we're already a threat," said Fox. "I suppose that's only natural, considering the events of the past few weeks."

"Except for me." Haru looked down at her school uniform in vague disappointment. "I hope that won't cause trouble for everyone else."

"Nah," said Oracle. "You'll just have to  _axe_ a few questions first, and then - "

"Where's Crow going?" Joker said, leaning down as the boy abruptly turned heel and walked away from the group. Morgana narrowed his eyes. Yes, he was short, but did Joker  _really_  have to do that with his hands in his pockets like he was talking to a kid?

"Into the Velvet Room," Morgana said. "That's where he talks to Igor and the twins, and fuses Personas." He sighed. "Are you  _sure_ you've never heard of it, Joker?"

"If I had, wouldn't you think I'd know a little more about the Metaverse?" Joker frowned. "Everything's been a guessing game since I got my powers. To think Crow can access the Velvet Room and none of us can, well..."

"You're jealous," Morgana said flatly.

"Wouldn't you be?"

"Well - maybe," he stammered. "But Crow is the  _trickster_. He's special."

"Trickster, huh." Joker looked contemplative. "And who told you that?"

"The man called Igor. The proprietor of the Velvet Room." Morgana's tail twitched. "And he's the one who gave Crow his powers, so if he said it, it must be true."

"Right," said Joker, staring into the empty space where Crow had disappeared to. "That makes perfect sense."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all... ... ... I'm sorry for the long gap in posting (a whole 7 days). I really didn't know how to write this chapter at first, and ultimately it's mostly a breather with the Thieves talking to each other. Hopefully the questions they're asking each other will make sense to people, because it's going to matter soon.
> 
> RIP Kitaake you never had a chance in this fic, not when I put the Shuake tag in the first chapter. If I hadn't, well, things might have ended differently lol. Until then, please check out the first story in my Kitaake AU, "Shall We Hear The Cormorants Cry?" It's a no-powers AU where Goro and Yusuke are happily married and very domestic and cute in China! 
> 
> In canon Arsene is of course Akira's initial Persona and therefore has baby stats. Naturally, the skillset will be different here, though I haven't set it in stone yet. He's more powerful ok.
> 
> Hmm what else? Well, this entire chapter is not from Goro's POV, yet everyone can't stop talking about him. How annoying! At least Ann and Shiho saved us. Thank you, ladies ♥ 
> 
> **Next time...?:** The casino arc begins with style and bombast. Akira assimilates into the team with more efficiency than anyone expects. Makoto continues to talk to Sae, despite herself. And to celebrate Okumura's change of heart, the PT go to Destinyland! Yay!!
> 
> (PS I just got a twitter account to keep track of adorable fanart and peep out fic updates, so if anyone's interested, please follow me @blackflowertea. I'm a real social media scaredy cat, so please be kind ;.;)


	19. Steal Nijima's heart I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro's mind churns, and churns, and churns.

**19\. Steal Nijima’s heart I**

"Something for you," Goro told the twins. "A Hecatoncheires with Masukunda."

"Very good," Justine said. "Your fusing skills continue to improve with time."

"You're moving up, inmate," said Caroline.

Goro couldn't help but smile. What a world when he was getting a genuine compliment from the petite proto-sadist. "Thank you."

"Your reward for this effort shall be the Special Solitary Confinement. Now pay attention..."

He listened in, stealing a glance at Igor every now and then, smiling that unblinking wide-eyed smile and looking seemingly at nothing even with his gaze in Goro's direction. What the man - if he could be called that - did when the twins were busy with their pet project he didn't know. Once more the other Metaverse user came to mind.

The Warden.

Akira?

The doubt had begun to prick at him during the conversation they'd had in Mementos. Akira didn't know about the Velvet Room, nor Igor. Now he could have been lying - Goro wasn't naive enough to think that everything that came out of the Third Eye's mouth to be the unvarnished truth. It certainly wasn't for him.

But Akira couldn't seem to see the Velvet Door either. And that was troubling.

 _Another like myself._ Another trickster. Someone like Goro, with the capacity to form Confidants and wield and fuse multiple Personas.

And someone serving their time in rehabilitation. Was that Kurusu Akira? Or was it someone he hadn't even met yet?

What if they'd been on the wrong trail the entire time?

Think, Goro. Why did you suspect Akira to begin with?

That day at the TV station: he'd talked about going to Leblanc for coffee later, despite the only one who'd mentioned coffee prior being Morgana, whom Akira shouldn't have been able to understand. He had. By then, he must have already been into the Metaverse and/or awakened a Persona. That checked out.

What else could he have overheard? That evening he'd upset Goro with his comment about Futaba and Goro had stalked upstairs, where he and Morgana had frankly said too much about the Thieves’ work with the boy just a doorless floor below. Akira hadn't intruded up for a while, but he could have been eavesdropping. Goro had been far too blasé. Even with only his side of the conversation, it had been damning. A recording could have had him arrested.

Akira must have heard Morgana during the Kosei roundup too. Perhaps that was what he had wanted to talk to Goro about before Yusuke dragged him away. To the other students Morgana was merely a howling cat, but to _him_ -

He was beginning to sense a pattern in their carelessness.

(You can’t blame Morgana. You opened your vapid mouth too - )

What else. What connection did Akira have to their targets? This was far less speculative - he worked with Nijima Sae to put away Madarame and Kaneshiro in prison properly, though he wouldn't have been aware of them until  they turned themselves in. But both the men's Shadows had warned the Thieves of the Warden's prowling presence. For some reason, despite the his contact with the Palace rulers, he hadn't killed them or made them rampage by the time the Thieves came around. Why not? Did threatening a Shadow really affect its owner's mind in reality? How would have such emotion manifested in a person with a distorted heart? Would they have stopped their depraved behaviour because of a few mental threats or would it have made them _more_ suspicious, paranoid, prone to rash decision? What if the Warden's threats had made the Palace rulers' behaviour _worse?_

There was so much Goro didn't know. Even if was a trifle more than Akira, the thought of trying to piece it all together with only Igor and the twins as quote unquote _guidance_ filled him with despair. They wouldn't help. They had no incentive to.

But why not? What was their purpose in this game?

Game, game, game. The word was starting to make him sick. _Everything_ was a game. Not being able to enter the Metaverse unless via a phone app was a game. Puzzling out the keywords to each Palace was a game. Clearing each Palace only to steal a treasure and battle the Palace ruler was a game. Dungeon crawling Mementos was a game. Even his purportedly necessary _rehabilitation_ was a game.

Was the Velvet Room a game too?

And if so, was he a player or a pawn?

“You’ve been quiet, inmate,” murmured Justine. “Have you anything to say before we send you off once more?”

Goro slipped out of his thoughts and put on a smile. “Justine, would you say your master is a kind man?”

“Kind…?” She looked dubious. “We in the Velvet Room are not in the operation of being _kind_.”

“That’s right,” drawled her mirror self. “Look at where you stand, what separates you from us. Where are you right now, inmate?”

The bars. Goro had long ceased gripping onto them as if they would give away if he just _pushed_ hard enough. Now they were like cold columns to him; decoration, that only reminded him of their utility when he forgot they were there.

“We’re in a prison,” he said in a low voice, and the twins nodded as one.

“The Velvet Room exists to judge the trickster’s true self,” said Justine. “Nothing more.”

“And to lay down the punishment when it’s time. Wait, that’s not right.” Caroline screwed her good eye shut. “I mean, we’ll carry out your sentencing. But it doesn’t have to be a _punishment_ , does it, Justine?”

“Rehabilitation is already a form of sentencing. When your time is over, we - our master - will set you free, provided you have fulfilled your task as a trickster. That I so believe.”

Goro believed one thing at the moment.

That Justine was uncertain.

He let out a tense breath. She didn’t know, did she? What would happen to him after this. After he’d been rehabilitated.

“What of the other user? What task has he to fulfill?”

“It's - it's complicated.” Caroline glared. “You wouldn't understand.”

“His task is not yours to know. “Nor your his. Focus on your rehabilitation at hand and leave the rest to our master.”

Bullshit. “ _You know him_ ,” Goro hissed. “ _Who is he_?”

It got Igor's attention. “Hasty to end the game early, aren't you?” he called out. “Your impatience will be your undoing yet. Until our next meeting, trickster.”

“You're not forcing me out now - “

“Enough!” shouted Caroline, and then he was stumbling out of the Velvet Door and into the entrance to the casino, where the others were waiting for him.

Including Joker.

“Crow, you look shaken,” said Queen. “Did everything go alright?”

They were all looking at him. And while Akechi Goro was occasionally a disheveled mess, Crow never was. He stood up straight and adjusted his mask until he could see in both eyes the red beak protruding forth straight and true.

“Never been better,” he said smoothly, and beckoned them forth.

* * *

"Come if you dare," said the Shadow of Nijima Sae, and vanished.

"Sis, no!" Queen leapt over the staircase and ran to the elevator, to no avail. She was kicking the glass door in frustration when they caught up. "Dammit!"

Goro shared her feelings, but now wasn't the time. "We'll get her," he said. "We just need a member's card first."

"And how long will that take?" she snapped, then forced her fists down by her sides. "No. I'm being irrational. We can do this. We _have_ done this."

"It's hard," said Noir, and she _was_ Noir, now that Nijima's Shadow had caught sight of her with the Thieves. "Seeing someone you love represented by something as warped as that creature out there. It's difficult to believe they're even the same person."

"It's not her true self. Just her distortion," said Panther. "Don't take it to heart, Queen."

"Uh, guys? Trouble coming up!"

Goro whirled around to see a Shadow advancing on them. The urge to slice it to pieces with a clean Swift Strike was enormous. He could feel Shiki-Ouji's silent anticipation, the furl of its paperlike fingers around his shoulders.

 _Come and let me out_ , the Persona whispered. _You need only ask._

Joker stepped up first. "Allow me." He flung out his arm, and Arsene flared up behind him in blue flame. "Eigaon!"

"Oooh," said Oracle when it failed to do as much damage as expected. "This guy's actually resistant to Curse skills. Someone else want to give it a shot?"

"Uh... Agidyne?" said Panther, and knocked the Cruel Leopard flat on his ass.

Skull snickered. An all-out attack got rid of the Shadow before the next turn, and then Joker was wearing a sheepish smile in the line of "well, I tried".

"Shall we venture forth, then?" said Fox, but Goro shook his head.

"We've found our infiltration route. That's all we needed to accomplish today. We'll prepare and come back tomorrow."

"And that's an order," said Mona.

Queen nodded as if her jaw was baked from cement, and they went back the way they'd came. The beak of Goro's mask scraped against the floor of the vents as he crawled forward. At least he wouldn't have to call Becky tonight - his stamina had improved considerably since those early days, and she'd been dour and slow to work as of late. Not that her attitude was relevant, honestly, but it was a far cry from the servile cheerfulness of yore.

Maybe a flu of depression had come over the whole city. Who was happy among them, truly?

(Well, Ann and Shiho, in all seriousness. Ryuji, perhaps. Yusuke? Morgana? Futaba? Not Makoto. Not Okumura. Not Akira, surely, and surely not _him_ \- )

He left the vents behind and leapt over the glass platforms, and wondered where this game they were all playing would lead them, in the end.

* * *

When they were themselves again, Okumura embraced Makoto while the latter held back angry tears. "It's alright. She'll be a better person when this is all over. I promise."

Goro pursed his lips. That wasn't why they were planning to change her heart.

Akira had the same look on his face. The boy mouthed, "Talk?" when he caught Goro's gaze. Was now the time? Could he get some damn answers and cut some of the strings jerking him around?

"Morgana. Do you mind going home with Futaba for the night?"

"Eh, why?"

"Yeah, why," said Futaba. "Not that I mind."

"For reasons," Goro said, unable to think of any.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." She narrowed her eyes. "Come on, Morgana, we're gonna eat the high-class stuff tonight. Akechi can feast on burnt rice or whatever he makes when no one's around."

"Oh? I'm sold, then!"

* * *

The Thieves dispersed at the nearest station, taking their respective lines to and fro. Goro pretended to study a train map until everyone left but Akira, who chuckled at the pretense. "You act like we're not supposed to be seen together in public."

He eased up, knowing it was only them. "Maybe we shouldn't," Goro said. "What _would_ your fans think of you wandering the streets with some mysterious boy they've never heard of?"

"That depends. What do you want me to tell them?"

Ah, this was better. Even some superficial banter made him feel less anxious about what he was going to say next.

"Akira, I really would like to talk more. Somewhere private. Where we can't be overheard."

"That's probably for the best," the boy agreed. "Besides, I have questions too."

Naturally. "Leblanc won't work. Nor the house. Boss hasn't yet found out we're working on Nijima-san or he'd have a heart attack." Goro imitated zipping his lips shut with his fingers. "When I came home after my first interrogation I thought he was going to kick me out."

"That's not - " Akira frowned. "He wouldn't do that, would he?"

A shake of the head. "My paranoia got the better of me. It wasn't pleasant, especially with everything else going on that day. Morgana running off to Okumura Tower on his own just to prove himself and - "

"Okumura? What for?"

They were still in public. Goro rubbed the back of his neck. "It's not smart to talk about this in the open." Besides, it wasn't Okumura he wanted to discuss.

"Yeah." Akira closed his eyes. "I know. Come back to my place. It'll be safe there."

"Can I?" Goro blurted out. "What about your parents?"

The boy's smile was plastic. "Come on, Goro. My parents don't want anything to do with me anymore."

"But you're the Third Eye. You're _famous_."

"To you I am. Other people don't forgive so easily." Akira turned heel. "My place is this way. Let's go."

* * *

Kurusu Akira didn't live in a lair beneath an underwater volcano or on a fortress atop a frozen mountain, but on the fourth floor of a concrete apartment building a few minutes away from Sumiyoshi Station on the Hanzomon/Shinjuku Lines. The place looked surprisingly nice for a high schooler to afford on his own. As if reading his mind, Akira said, "You'd be surprised what you can get in the world when you don't have to do the shopping and laundry for a dozen other people."

They entered the elevator, and Goro smoothed down the front of his legs, glad for once they weren't sore and in need of relief. "You mean, apart from massages from Becky?"

A devil's smirk flickered onto Akira's face. "She talks about you, you know. Says she can't believe you haven't noticed she's, well - let's just say that if you heard her real voice, you might know where she's from."

"What a terrifying proposition. I'll have to decline trying to find out."

"Hey! Play along a little."

He rolled his neck. "I sincerely hope you're not into older women, Akira."

"Nope. Just older boys, as it turns out."

Goro gave him a suspicious look. "You're not still sixteen, are you?"

"Turned seventeen over the summer. August, in fact."

"I hope your birthday was fun. Did you have a party?"

"With me and who else? I'm friendless, as you keep reminding me."

Goro snorted. "You seem to know a host of characters yourself, so forgive my newfound doubts. You're telling me Ohya and Becky and Mifune-san wouldn't accept an invitation for tea if you came calling?"

"And Sae-san. Don't forget her," the boy muttered. "Not that she's a huge fan of me at the moment."

"Piece of work as Nijima elder may be at the moment," Goro said. "You must have enjoyed working with her once upon a time."

The elevator door slid open and Akira shuffled forward, Goro following sedately behind.

"I _did_. Which is what makes everything going on right now pretty annoying." He stopped in front of a door, swiped in a keycard and punched in a few numbers. "Come in."

Goro slipped out of his shoes, conscious there were no slippers at the genkan for them. Well, how many guests did the Third Eye get, really? “I wonder when she began to suspect you.”

“Who knows.” Akira took his jacket off and stretched. “In retrospect, taking her to Leblanc that day and blabbing about Kaneshiro in front of you might have been a mistake.”

“ _Might?_ That’s probably what started it all.”

“Nah.” The boy pressed his lips together. “Not by a longshot.

“Want something to drink?” he added.

* * *

Goro looked around the living room as Akira hummed away in the kitchen making tea. It was sparse, with only a beige sofa, a small TV in the corner, a dresser on the side and the table he was sitting at. Not that teenage boys were known for their sense of interior design, but Akira had too bombastic a personality to be living in a place without posters or a guitar on the wall or even a mini cactus on the dresser.

Perhaps he wasn't one to judge. It had taken months for Goro’s bedroom to stop looking like a hotel room and as if a real human being lived there, and only through the various gifts he'd gotten from friends after their outings. Try as he might, he couldn't imagine Ohya or Becky giving Akira a gift after one of their sessions, which was perhaps why everything was so bare. It truly was a pity.

(Was it? Was it even his business at the end of the day?)

He checked his messages, astonished that there was nothing from the others yet, save one from Okumura stating her father's behaviour had yet to improve. Not too worrying, considering the other targets’ behaviour after their hearts had been changed, but he wrote back in reassurance nonetheless, then put his phone on vibrate.

Akira came out with two cups of green tea and a small plate of rice and seaweed crackers. “Sorry for the wait.”

Goro shrugged. “It gave me time to gather my thoughts.”

“Ah. The dreaded _thoughts_.” Akira set everything down and sat cross-legged. “Alright, hit me with everything you have.”

"I want to tell you about the Velvet Room.”

“Funny. I was going to bring it up if you hadn't.”

“Mysterious place, isn't it? And responsible for everything that's happened this year.”

“Lay it on me.” And so, Goro told him how it had all begun.

He left out only his knowledge of the Warden, but was honest about everything else. At the end of it Akira’s head was clearly swirling with newfound information. He didn't say anything for a long time, only gnawed on a cracker and let it melt in his mouth.

“I don't get it,” the boy said finally. “Why did the Velvet Room contact you and no one else?”

“I appear to be the only one in our group needing rehabilitation."

"Yeah," Akira said. "But from _what?_   What have you done that's so terrible that they'd need to keep you in a prison cell like that?"

If he knew, they wouldn't be here. "Perhaps it represents my own mindset," Goro offered. "Wretched as it is to believe that my conception of a place that delivers guidance could be so... limiting, but it's hardly as if I've lived a free life before this year. Even now, I..."

He drifted off.

He needed to call Sensei. Explain himself. Tell her he wasn't who Nijima Sae thought he was, wasn't a shady teenage criminal mastermind, didn't run errands for ex-yakuza or back alley doctors, didn't hide in his closet prop weapons so realistic they'd get him arrested if found out, didn't run through tens of thousands of yen daily buying this and that without Boss knowing, had never been beaten up by nameless thugs, had never been threatened expulsion or extortion or arrest or death or worse -

He didn't want to lie to her of all people. But the truth was unbearable. The truth would get him killed, and her and the institution in trouble. He couldn't pin it on her.

Akechi Goro wasn't ready to tell the unvarnished truth, and all parts of him knew it.

 _So long as you tread carefully,_ Robin Hood murmured.

_I know what I'm doing, Robin._

_You've chosen one path and deemed it right above all others. Other opportunities are open to you._

_Like what? Telling Akira I think he's the Warden and not expecting him to strangle me in my sleep? Everyone's lives are on the line. I can't afford to be sloppy._

_Yet you drink tea in his home, having told no one else where you are at the moment. Is that the action of one who is not sloppy?_

_Akira would never poison me. He's not like that._

_If your faith in him is this strong already, then why not take a step further? Prove you'd never do the same to him._

What nonsense. When would it ever even come up? Goro grimaced, only to realize Akira had been staring at him the whole time.

"... you were saying?"

Oh, right. He blinked. "Excuse me. I just - my thoughts got the better of me."

"I know that look. Was that Robin Hood rattling around in your head?"

"Um." Fuck, how did he know? "He's very irritating, yes."

"Arsene talks to me a lot too." Akira laced his hands on the table, thumbs fiddling together. "Sometimes I can't even tell which thoughts are mine and which aren't."

"Really? What does he tell you?"

"How I'm not alone in the world anymore." The boy's smile grew wan. "Isn't that silly of him?"

"He's not strictly wrong," Goro said. "Going from an ordinary boy to having a cognitive spirit lurking around in your mind and killing Shadows for you doesn't happen to just anyone."

"Except neither of us were ordinary boys before we got our Personas. Right?"

At this he could only laugh. He hadn't told Akira as much about his past as he had the others, even if the boy knew about his mother before she died - which no one else did. And he didn't know about Akira's home life before the arrest. He could have been anything, and anyone.

"I..." Akira bit his lip. "Hey, look. I wasn't telling the truth before when I told you how I got my powers."

 _Holy shit_ , Futaba would have said in a deadpan. Goro just counted the seconds before he let a seemingly natural breath pass out of him. "Awakening is... almost always a traumatic experience. I don't blame you for wanting to keep the details to yourself."

"Yeah, but - " Akira's eyes crinkled in relief. "How can you just say it like that? Most people would just be pissed I couldn't be straightforward right away. As if I was keeping secrets from them because I _wanted_ to."

Goro snorted. "Take it from one liar to another - there's always a reason we keep some things to ourselves."

"Sure." The boy started chewing on his thumb nail. "I... God, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you have to keep this shit to yourself. I'd actually be ruined if it got out, so..."

"I swear," Goro said. Then, because Akira was staring down at his tea: "Do you want to make a pinky promise over it?"

"What? No!" He balked. "Actually, wait. Hmm... maybe."

The combination of the brave man's fluster and yet genuine contemplation meant Goro had to do it. He'd die if it was him on the other end of the line, but here he wasn't, so. He held out his hand, little finger sticking out.

"The last time I did this I was six," Akira mumbled, but hooked his finger around Goro's and gave a little squeeze. "Whoo! Alright, that was embarrassing."

Goro pressed his lips together so his smile wouldn't crack his face. "Where's the Third Eye when you need him? You're usually more suave than this."

"And you're usually... less suave. Whatever." Akira scratched the back of his head. "Okay, so, look. I don't know about the Velvet Room or Igor, but before I got my powers... got Arsene, I did hear a voice in my head one night. When I was dreaming. Someone - or something - reached out to me. Told me I was a prisoner of this cruel world, and that it would help me if I wanted it to. I didn't have to do anything, just say yes. And I did. I thought I was dreaming.

"When I agreed," he said, looking away, "it was like the voice transported me somewhere in my sleep. I couldn't see anything in the darkness... only that I was running. Somehow, I knew I had to run. And when I woke up, I was free."

"Free," Goro echoed. "What do you mean by that."

"I was out," Akira mumbled, not looking at him.

My God. "You were still in juvenile detention when the dream came to you," Goro said, and he nodded.

"I never carried out my sentence. Never got let out early for good behaviour either. Oops, right?"

"You don't have to be glib. I get it."

"Do you?" Akira said, then winced. "Yeah, you do. Sorry."

Goro sighed. "Knowing the nature of your arrest, I don't blame you for taking the deal. Hell, if some voice in a dream offered me that kind of power when I was vulnerable before, I'd have said yes in a heartbeat." And then probably gone mad with power.

"Cool," Akira said. "Cool. That's genuinely... great. Thanks. I feel better."

Oh dear. "Do I seem that much of a judgmental prick to you? I know I can be stiff, but - "

"Kind of? If I'd never heard Morgana blab that day at the TV station, I'd never have guessed _you'd_ be part of the Phantom Thieves." A smile. "Remember what you said about the Thieves' change of hearts being morally ambiguous? I thought anyone who could justify _that_ opinion had to be a lackey of the rule of law and order."

"I was worried what would happen if Ryuji or Ann got their hands on the microphone," Goro said. "Ergo, trying to divert attention by being as big a stick in the mud as possible."

"Yeah. But do you believe it?"

"I..." He bit his lip. "I don't know. The change of hearts are undoubtedly a beneficial force in the world. For the Palace ruler's victims, and for society. They force people to be held accountable who have never been before - whether because of power, or intimidation, or wealth - they're no longer untouchable. The change of hearts makes them want to atone for their past crimes. It's a compulsion for them."

"Disturbing, isn't it?"

He frowned. "I wouldn't go that far."

"I'm not saying you shouldn’t have done them," Akira said. "Just... all these terrible people changing basically with a snap of the fingers. Doesn't that make you feel weird? You've technically taken the distortion out of their hearts, but what's left? Who _are_ your targets after their hearts have been changed? Are they the true versions of their old selves, or are they different people altogether because the old them would never have tried to atone for their crimes the way they're doing now?"

Ah. "I don't know. I've honestly never spent time around a target once their heart has been changed. Enough to know whether their newfound sense of guilt is theirs, or…”

He remembered Kamoshida’s confession at the school assembly. Then, it had filled him with pride and relief. It was the Thieves’ proof of concept, and it had worked. Morgana hadn't been lying, Goro hadn't been dreaming, and none of them were getting expelled.

“Nakanohara,” he said. “You changed his heart. Did you know him beforehand?”

A shake of the head. “Only his Shadow in Mementos. He was a real piece of work too. You have no idea how tempted I was just to blow his head off.”

They'd have gotten nowhere in their investigation otherwise. “Good thing you didn't,” Goro said. “He seemed perfectly normal when we met him.”

“I guess,” Akira said.

The doubt there was palpable. It made him wonder.

“You don't want to change Nijima-san’s heart, do you?”

Akira stared at his cooling cup of tea. “I want her to not put everyone in jail. Me included.”

"Then a change of heart is the safest option."

"What, for us?"

"Much as we play the vigilante card, you don't expect the Thieves to be going around in real life and threatening people to keep quiet, do you?" Goro said, then thought about it. "Although we've actually done that." He rubbed his temple. Technically he was doing it right now - or Makoto was, in his stead. What a world. "Never mind."

"The point is," said Akira, "when you change someone's heart, you don't know what'll actually become of them. All you know is that they'll be sorry for their past actions, but Sae-san's not a criminal. What exactly do we want out of her apart from not tipping the police off about the Phantom Thieves?"

"What other option is there? With Isshiki-san - Futaba's mother - it was easy. Easier. She didn't personally hold anything against us. Once she saw her own Palace, she understood she had to change for her daughter's sake, and hers."

"Then - "

"We are not bringing Nijima Sae into the casino," Goro said. "I'm sorry, but that is never going to happen and you know it."

"I _know_." The boy screwed his eyes shut. "I just - what if we change her heart and she decides to just give up on who she is? Stops being a prosecutor, stops taking on cases, stops - "

"People change all the time, Akira. How is this so different?"

"There's a difference in me offering you a piece of cake and shoving it down your throat, isn't there?" Akira scowled. "How would you feel if someone tried to change you because they didn't like who you were?"

"That depends. Am I a criminal at the moment? Do I have a Palace?"

" _Take this seriously, Goro_."

"I am." He sighed. "If someone wanted to change my heart and I wasn't aware of it, there's not a thing I could do to stop it. It's horrible, but until we send our calling cards, our targets are just sitting ducks with no way to defend themselves. Not that most of them deserve to."

" _Most_."

"I fully concede that changing Isshiki-san's heart would have been the wrong choice. But the others - Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro - what would _you_ have done with them? Don't tell you think putting a bullet in their heads would have been more honest, somehow."

"It doesn't matter what I would have done. They're dead by Shido's hands now."

Well, Kamoshida wasn't, even if he was sitting rosy in prison right now. "I wonder if we'll find their cognitions in his Palace." That would be something, wouldn't it? _Ryuji_ might get to pulp Kamoshida this time. Not that an abusive gym teacher had any reason to associate with a murdering corrupt politician.

"Shido," said Akira. "He's your old man, hm?"

" _Who told you?_ " Goro said. Akira winced, held up his hands in an offering of peace.

"Takamaki. Don't blame her. I was just curious." His grey eyes were wide with alarm. "When we talked about him with Ohya, you got... heated. It seemed personal."

Goro ground on on a rice cracker, swallowed it with lukewarm tea. "It is. Unfortunately."

"You can tell me about it." When Goro glowered: "Or not. I'm not pushy."

He was being petty. "It's fine. I just - " He splayed his fingers out, began counting down. "When she was young, my mother was his... mistress. She was just an intern out of high school, a girl from a small country town who'd just moved into the big city for the first time, and he was this... hot shot young politician making his name in the Diet. I doubt he chose her for her intellect. No, I _know_ he didn't.

"She left him. After she fell pregnant, and he refused to support her if she didn't abort me. His lawyers would have dragged her name through the mud if she'd tried anything through the legal system, so she left Tokyo and went back home, where her family disowned her. It didn't matter. She found a job, and gave birth to me, and for five years - even if we were poor, we were happy.

"You know the rest," he said, with a smile that was a grimace that was a smile. "Her family wouldn't take me in, and Sawada-san was too old. She passed away only a few months after. Maybe the grief was too much. Sometimes - " His hands were fists now, so he began counting them outward. " - I wished they'd taken me with them. Either of them. I _hated_ them for leaving me behind.

"It's alright," he said, when Akira opened his mouth but nothing emerged but the silence of helplessness. "I don't feel that way anymore. I'm happy to be alive right now." He stopped, then repeated it. "I'm _happy_ to be alive. Even with this absurd situation we're in, I wouldn't change it for anything else. Isn't that strange?"

"I get it," Akira said, and his voice was getting scratchy. Goro studied his hands, keeping his gaze away from the boy's eyes. "You said you lived in an institution, right? Life under Boss' roof must be paradise in comparison."

"It is." Goro felt his heart calming, furled and unfurled his fingers now that he didn't have to count them anymore. "Even so, I really have to introduce you to Ogawa-sensei someday."

"Ogawa-sensei...?"

"The manager at the boys' home." He smiled. "She was assigned to the place when I was around twelve, and honestly, if you'd pitted one university graduate with rose-tinted glasses and Chanel perfume versus a hundred feral boys who couldn't even take a hot bath without screaming at each other, you'd think she'd quit on the second day. Instead, she made the institution feel almost... civilized, and me as well by association. If she'd never taken a chance on us, I would have probably turned out some deranged sociopath who gutted people for looking at me wrong."

"Christ, that's not true, Goro," Akira said. "You would have been fine - "

"Akira," Goro said. "Look at me."

Slowly, the boy turned his face up - damp as expected, at Goro, who stared back with dry eyes and true conviction.

"I would not have been fine," he whispered. "And at one point, I hated that about myself. I thought it made me fundamentally broken, that I couldn't seem to behave like the other children at school. The one who had parents, who made them their bentos and washed their socks for them, and never got called into the office for having the wrong hair colour or cracked soles or - or nothing nice to draw during art class. I was this terrible ticking bomb waiting to explode, and if I'd gotten the offer you had then - " He swallowed, knowing it was only the truth. " - if a strange godlike voice had gifted me the power of a Persona in my dreams, I would have rained revenge and chaos and anguish over all of society for begetting me, then killing the one person I loved in the world. I would have been a monster, and I wouldn't have cared who I hurt so long as I felt good at the end of the day.

"Thank the heavens," he added, "Sensei came into my life instead, and offered me hope."

"O - oh."

Akira was white as sheets, his knuckles tightly drawn together, moppish hair even more nestlike than usual.

"I'm scaring you," Goro said.

"No. You're just being honest." The grin that came next was the feeblest effort at comity Goro had ever seen from him - but it wasn't insincere. He appreciated that more than anything.

(Well, almost.)

"And," he said, "Sensei's also how I met Shido."

 ~~His~~ ~~father~~. ~~~~He would rather die than let those words cross his lips again. Never more.

"We _were_ talking about him," Akira said in a small voice. "How did it go from here to there?"

"I like chatting with you," Goro said, frowning when the boy didn't move. "Akira, do you want a break? Because we don't have to do this right now. There's time later." Three weeks and counting, even as it ticked down every day. He tried to smile in a self-deprecating manner, hoping it didn't come off as conceited as usual. "I'm sorry, I usually save the tragic backstory for later on in my friendship with someone, but it seemed relevant, considering we're likely going after him next - "

"I do want a break," Akira said.

Oh. "Perhaps tomorrow, then."

"No, I mean for like ten minutes. Let's go for a walk and come back for more."

"For more," Goro echoed, glancing out the window to see a bluish-violet sky. "It's going to be evening soon. Are you sure you have nothing better to do?"

"Goro. The leader of the Phantom Thieves is spilling his entire life’s history to me, and you think I want to do anything else?" 

"Well. There is studying," Goro suggested, to which the role model to thousands of teenagers all over Japan, Kurusu Akira's sage response was:

" _Fuck_ studying."

* * *

Ten minutes around the neighbourhood, Akira said. Ten minutes turned to twenty, then thirty. Goro had never been in this part of Tokyo and stared as a tourist might. The city was enormous. Nothing in Fuefuki even compared.

Much to his amusement, Akira didn't seem to know much about the area either. "Hey, don't give me that look," he said when they turned one corner too many and found themselves in a small shopping district. "I'm a small town boy too."

Interesting. "Where from?"

"Karuizawa," he said, and Goro whistled.

"Well, aren't _you_ something else, Kurusu-san."

"I'm going to kick your ass for that."

"Mm hmm."

"It's not like my family's wealthy or anything." Akira scuffed his shoe against the pavement. "We just run a local shrine. Popular with tourists. It..." He sighed. "It used to be part of my daily chores. I'd give out directions and sweep the steps and take offerings, all while trying not to trip in my hakama and geta. My family's big on tradition. Respecting the old ways, and pursuing only beauty and the truth of this world."

" _Akira_ ," Goro said, amazed despite himself. "Don't let Yusuke hear you say that or he'll never let you have a moment of peace in your life ever again."

"Yeah, it does seem more Kitagawa's style," Akira said wryly. "I don't know how that guy even lives in the 21st century. Besides, he might be into it, but me? God, I was dying to get out of my calligraphy and ikebana and tea ceremony lessons. All I wanted as a kid was to climb trees like a monkey and turn over rocks to see an army of ants marching into the grass. But when you're the only son of a family that claims ancestry all the way back to the birth of Amaterasu, you don't really get to choose your own extracurriculars."

(He couldn't relate to that. Not in a thousand years. But the thought of a young Akira in a lavishly printed kimono was adorable. He must have had dozens. Goro didn't even have _one_.)

"But now - "

A shrug. "They'll probably have a cousin take over one day. God knows I have enough of those."

"I'm sorry. That must have been an ordeal, then."

"My arrest?" Goro nodded, and Akira stopped in the sidewalk. "Yeah, I fell pretty far from heaven, didn't I? One day you're the town's favourite son who gets to take all the photos with the tourists and a mountain of chocolate at school and the mayor buys an omamori from you during New Year's. Then you take what people said about justice and fairness too much to heart, and you try to save a scared woman from a drunken asshole with too much power and not enough sense, and...

"I used to think people were serious," he said. "When they said good would always triumph over evil, and those who had done righteously would be rewarded both in this life and the next. Now I know better." He turned to Goro, and with the smile of a pained man, recited in a soft voice:

"In this world of ours,  
We eat only to cast out,  
Sleep only to wake,  
And what comes after all that  
Is simply to die at last."

Goro couldn't breathe for several seconds. It was too much. He - Akira - _this_ -

Akira started walking again, and he, staggered, followed. "Kurusu Akira, _who are you?"_

"Just a fool," the boy said, "with his head crammed full of Basho and nothing else. Can you believe I had to study that guy every night after dinner for a year when I was ten? It _sucked_.

"Ah," he said, when they'd reached a restaurant in the middle of a whole row of them. "We're here."

And opened the door for Goro, and despite the ache in his eyes, smiled for him.

* * *

 **Futaba** : yo butthead  
**Futaba** : you sure you know what you're doing there?  
**Goro** : Akira's a nice boy, Futaba.  
**Futaba** : a;faf;nsd;nsd;fn  
**Futaba** : THREE HOURS LATER AND THIS IS THE RESPONSE I GET??????  
**Futaba** : WHAT ARE YOU DOING RN  
**Futaba** : YOU BETTER NOT BE KISSING OR I WILL PERSONALLY COME OVER AND CUT YOUR HEAD OFF  
**Futaba** : INARI CAN BE THE NEW LEADER  
**Goro** : We're not kissing.  
**Goro** : Can you not be juvenile for at least one conversation?  
**Futaba** : I am literally a juvenile.  
**Futaba** : Not that you'd know, seeing as you were born forty years old.  
**Goro** : And with the fashion sense to match, yes.  
**Futaba** : Great, so you know it's shit and yet you continue to dress like that.  
**Goro** : Oddly enough, it's yet to act as a repellent to those with a real interest in me ;)  
**Futaba is typing...**  
**Futaba is typing...**  
**Futaba is typing...**  
**Futaba:** I give up. He can have you.  
**Futaba** : He can kill you too. I don't care anymore.  
**Goro** : I'll be home safe in due time, Isshiki-san.  
**Goro** : We're just having dinner at the moment.  
**Futaba** : YOU'RE HAVING DINNER????? TOGETHER???  
**Goro** : That reminds me. We haven't had an introduction party for Akira nor Okumura-san yet.  
**Goro** : Any suggestions?  
**Futaba** : OMG STOP OBFUSCATING SHIT  
**Futaba** : THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT  
**Goro** : Oh, he's coming out of the bathroom.  
**Goro** : Talk later.  
**Futaba** : NO I  
**Futaba** : WAIT YOU FUCKER  
**Futaba** : GORO YOU SHITHEAD

Goro put his phone on silent.

* * *

They had unagi don.

It was expensive.

(What wasn't nowadays?)

Goro wanted to pay. Akira insisted.

"I dragged you all the way out here, remember?"

He could object. As the leader of the Phantom Thieves he was also the group's quartermaster and Money Man, whether he liked it or not. What he spent on regular weapon changes and modifications, healing items and accessories, gifts for various friends, getting his laundry done and buying super extra fertile soil for Okumura's rooftop garden at school so her sun tomatoes and rain carrots would grow especially quickly - all would have made his old stingy self weep. He could afford it now.

Apparently, so could Akira.

He said, "You're already doing me a huge favour by letting me be part of all this." Waving his hand in Goro's direction, because unlike some people, he could keep his mouth shut in public.

"It's not a favour," Goro said. "You're involved in it as much as we are. A favour would be..."

"Letting me pay for you. Want to get some taiyaki with ice cream before we head back?"

It was already twilight. Boss would be worried if he didn't text or call back to tell him he'd be late getting back to Yongen.

What Goro should have said was, "I should be heading home by now. Maybe another time."

What he actually said was, "Do they have sesame flavour?"

(Hopeless. Everything about this situation was hopeless. Not in the least, him.

Basho. Basho. Akira knew _Basho_ \- )

* * *

Later, Goro told him what he could about Shido. Akira listened, and this time didn't look afraid when Goro spoke of his thirteen-year-old self's visceral seething desire to _strangle_ the man who sired him for abandoning him the second time around - for insulting Sensei and kicking them out of his office. _Come near me again, you golddigging little rat, and you'll see how far the bonds of our shared blood will take you -_

Goro said, "When Nijima-san's Palace is over - " and found, mortified, that his voice was cracking. He couldn't get the rest of it out. _Why not?_

"Before the election," Akira said. "We'll take him down by any means necessary."

Somewhere along the way back from the restaurant their hands had found each other, and his was soft and warm and a little coarse in Goro's. Where was the boy who once wrote calligraphy on rice paper, who arranged flowers in a century-old vase, who accepted your New Year's greetings with a blessing and a smile? The one holding his hand wasn't even the Third Eye with his gimmicky insignia and obnoxious flirting, and it certainly wasn't Joker, all spit and fire and glint-eyed charisma.

It was _Akira_ , and no part of Goro could resent him - or himself - for wanting to keep this moment all to themselves, and each other.

"All my life I thought he was a pest born only to torment me and the memory of my mother," he mumbled. "Now I get it. He's a snake who'll devour all of Japan if we don't stop him. To think he's the one I have to face at the end of my journey. It feels - " He swallowed. "It's strange, but I feel as I was chosen for _this_ moment above all else."

"The Velvet Room works in mysterious ways," Akira said. Goro saw it - the question, the confusion, the hurt in his voice, as if to ask:

 _Then what am I here for? For what reason did you wake_ me?

"I promise," he said. "Before this is all over - we'll find the answers. The Metaverse, the Velvet Room, Mementos, our powers - everything. We'll leave no stone unturned."

"If anyone could get to the truth, it's you."

Akira smiled: an offering of peace. Goro smiled too: recognition of a mutual goal, understanding of the pact between them. Their hands remained together: acceptance of the new status quo.

Until he had to leave for his train, they never once broke each other apart.

* * *

“Ready, Joker?” Crow said the day after, and the madness began once more.

* * *

First mode of operations: getting a member's card so they could access the elevator up to the domain of Nijima's Shadow. This they got through once they found a backroom to skulk around in and beat up Shadows until they found one in the security room who dropped a few blank cards when it perished.

"Very nice," said Oracle, fingers clacking away on the keyboard as she started registering a name. "I have no idea how computers even function accurately in the Metaverse, but this stuff is the real deal. You have to wonder if you can eat and sleep here too if you want."

Goro smiled over her shoulder. "Thinking of a weekend getaway in a place like this, Oracle?"

"Don't knock it 'til you try it," she grumbled, brightening up when her work was done. "Here! Tanaka Taro. Pretty good, right?"

"Hey, do you _want_ us to get caught?" said Skull. "Pick something less obvious, will ya?"

"Oh, are we making requests now? Because I have one coming up from me to you - "

"Time is not our friend at the moment," Goro murmured. "You two are welcome to throw down over Gun About later or whatever the kids play, but please, let's focus on the mission at hand."

"Uh huh. Got it," said Skull.

" _Whatever the kids play_ ," Oracle said in a strangled voice. "You say that like you're not getting your ass kicked by a ten-year-old weekly in Akihabara, but oookay."

"You're doing what now," said Joker flatly. Then, because Goro was deliberately looking elsewhere: " _Goro_."

"It was for one of our Mementos requests," Queen said, saving him the embarrassment of having to admit he was now being tutored by a foul-mouthed child with a bad attitude and yet an exceptional gift in the art of shooting in a video game with toy guns. "It might seem ridiculous that playing an arcade game would benefit our skills in the Metaverse, but... tada?" She smiled. "It's worked for us so far."

"Surely you've been training in your own time, Joker," said Fox. "It would be foolish to venture into the Metaverse otherwise, seeing as before our partnership you were alone."

"Yeah," said Joker. "I do something like that. Yeah."

"Don't tell me," Skull said. "You're using a real gun."

"Oh my God, he is not!" Panther's protest dropped like a pinprick. "Um, are you?"

" _Yeesh_. No. Where would I even get one? Mine's a prop, like yours. I just order it online."

"We get ours from a gentleman named Iwai on Central Street in Shibuya," Noir informed him, thorough as ever. "Though he's mostly Crow's acquaintance."

"And mine!" said Mona.

Goro's lip curled. "Since when? All you do is nap in my bag while I do the real work."

"Crow's  _work_  consists of dusting old boxes and researching up spots for Iwai to take his son to. Anyone could do that!"

"Ha! Mona just called you out," Oracle sniggered. "Alright, here's a real good one. Nakanomatsu Shinji. Crow, do me the honours?"

"Thank you." Goro slipped it into his pocket. "What about the other card?"

"Huh? Oh. Joker, catch!"

Joker snatched the card out of the air with two fingers. Effortless. Hm. "What's up?"

"Throw it in the garbage next time you see a bin."

"Oh." Goro could just see his good mood evaporate. "Is this another hazing ritual."

"Maybe so, newbie. Maybe so."

Ignoring them, Queen said, "Are we sure only one card will be enough? What if they'll want one for each of us?"

Goro shook his head. "Nijima-san's Shadow is unfair, but not that unfair. If she didn't want us getting to her at all there wouldn't an elevator to begin with."

"I'll hold onto this one just in case, then," said Joker with a barely disguised smirk. "Sorry, Oracle."

"Crow! Since when is the newbie allowed to talk back to me!"

* * *

The ride up to the members' floor on the elevator was... stifling. Eight people plus one large-headed cat, and they were all but pressed up to the glass so everyone could fit in. For public safety Goro alone had to take his mask off lest he accidentally spear Noir's hat or slice off one of Panther's pigtails by turning his head the wrong way.

He stood at the back in between Fox and Noir, hands clasped at his front. An unusual combination: Goro's closest friend among the Thieves and the one he knew the least, though due to time and time alone. Still, the idea of Okumura and Yusuke doing something together, puttering about in her garden, or her posing for him, was a strange and charming delight.

(To think, he had enough friends now he could idly think of mixing and matching them for his own amusement. Still, wouldn't they get along like the sun and summer?)

"How are you adjusting, Noir?" he said to his fellow Shujin senior. "This is only your second Palace, after all."

"It's completely different from my father's, isn't it?" she said, gazing up at him with her plain black mask, the large hazel eyes resting within. "Honestly - I don't know if I should admit this, but now that I've experienced more of the Metaverse, it's quite fun. Like we're stepping into a different world of fantasy each time and we get to be heroes and do the right thing."

"Hmm," said Fox on the other side of Goro. "Are you sure it's not the stress relief of decapitating unruly Shadows you find enjoyable as well?"

Noir pinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Fox!"

"It _is_ uncouth to bring up violence in front of a lady," Goro said, which made Fox laugh and Noir splutter in genteel outrage.

"Keep talking like that and you're going to leave Mona with nothing to do!" Panther called over, sandwiched between Oracle and Skull at the front.

"What? What? I heard my name called! What did you say just now, Crow?"

Goro just brought a gloved finger up to his lips and winked at Panther, who gave him a thumbs up in solidarity.

"Mannn." Skull furrowed his brows at the sight. "Since when did _you_ two become so buddy buddy?"

"We’re gal pals, Ryuji,” Panther said, cocking her hip out.

"Really? Really?"

"Absolutely," Goro said. "It's in the dictionary. Our photo is there."

"Ugh, not you too!"

"Don't be a jealous B, Skull," Oracle said. "Science says it makes you get wrinkles early and also overnight."

"Why would I care about that?"

"I mean." She waggled her brows. " _Someone_ has to."

Oh, this was nice. The only ones who weren't talking were Joker and Queen. Queen had her reasons, though her posture was less stiff than yesterday's... and Joker just looked as if he was soaking in the atmosphere.

Goro knew it was ridiculous to hope. But maybe - just maybe - Joker and the Thieves could become friends.

 _Ah_ , intoned Robin Hood in his mind. _And now another opportunity presents itself to you. You need not be so narrow-minded and keep him all to yourself, see you now?_

And smiling pleasantly as banter went on around him, Goro thought: _shut up, Robin._

* * *

When the elevator door opened, the Shadow of Nijima Sae was waiting for them.

"Hello, little thieves," she said with the curl of a smile on her dark lips and haunted, alien-yellow eyes, and Queen nearly took a swing at her on first sight.

"Makoto!" Panther said in shock, holding back one of her arms, Noir gripping her other wrist tight. Knowing Queen's level of fitness, she could have shaken them off without missing a beat.

Instead, she just clenched her teeth and said, "I can't believe you've become like this, Sis. Where has your sense of justice gone? Is everything a game to you now? A game you're only willing to play if you always win?"

"It's not the real her, Queen," Goro said, but it fell on deaf ears. At his side Fox sighed, and Skull said:

" _Look_ , lady, we'll fight you fair and square right here. We're not scared of you."

Joker stepped forward, he who knew her almost as well as Queen did, who must have considered her a friend once upon a smile, who didn't smile but just stared at the Shadow with his eyes as grey as slate behind that crisp white mask and said:

"What do you want from us?"

"Play," said the Shadow. "Play my game, and win if you dare."

And with a snap of her fingers, she disappeared once more, and left them - her ignorant pawns - in her wake.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Queen said when they were in the safe room. "I have no idea why I keep losing my cool. I wasn't even as angry with Sis in real life, so why now? Why can't I seem to keep it together?"

The only thing that came to Goro's mind was, well...

"Stress relief," he said.

"What?" She gawked, and so did Noir on the chair beside her, hand on Queen's shoulder.

"Oh!" said Fox. "You mean, because the Shadow isn't Nijima-san in reality but a mere representation of her, Queen feels she can vent towards her without consequences?"

He wouldn't have gone that far. "It applies to all of us. If we punched someone in real life, we'd get written up - some of us arrested, even expelled from school. But in the Metaverse it doesn't carry the same repercussions. Sure, we can hurt or use Shadows or cognitions to our benefit, but - "

"Getting kinda dark there, leader," said Panther.

Goro shrugged. "Well, you get it. So long as we don't do anything drastic to the Palace ruler, that is. That would have very strong real life consequences for all of us."

"No shit," Oracle muttered.

Queen took in a deep breath and set her shoulders. "Rest assured, I'm not going to do anything reckless just because my sister and I are at odds right now. We're going to win this unjust game of hers and change her heart before she knows it." 

"Well said!" Mona cheered, and Noir smiled in encouragement. Skull jumped up from his seat.

"Great! Let's head out then."

Goro got up too. "Coming, Joker?" he called, when the boy hadn't budged.

"Uh huh." He pushed himself away from the wall. "Armed and charged, leader."

"You don't have to say it like that," Goro said, eyeing him. The others had already left the safe room, leaving just the two of them. "Come now. Are you worried about the plan?"

"Which one?" said Joker. "Plan A or plan B?"

"Akira..." He tried to sound reasonable. "I haven't talked to the others about it yet. You do realize we'll have to try and change Nijima-san's heart in the real world if we don't do it here, don't you? Knowing her as you do, how do you suggest we do something like that?"

Joker stared down at him, and abruptly Goro realized that the boy was - glancing down at his shoes for confirmation - taller than him in the Metaverse. Huh. Had it always been like that? Were boots with heels comfortable to fight in? Or was he just insecure Goro had an inch of height over him in reality? (Note to self: do not say this aloud if you want to keep gaining bonuses on fusing Justice personas.)

"I don't know," Joker admitted after a pause. "But you've gotten yourself out of some hairy situations before. I figured you'd know a way, even if I didn't."

"The way I've gotten myself _out_ of a hairy situation is usually by talking my head off until the other person is convinced I somehow have the upper hand on them," Goro said dryly. "That only works unless they have no interest in what I'm saying or have deemed it all bullshit from the start. I got off lucky with Nijima-san before. I don't think it'll happen again."

"But her sister's talking to her, right? Trying to convince her of the Thieves' justice?"

"Trying to. Yes." With the headspace Queen was in right now, he didn't know if she was the right person for the job anymore. And yet...

"Now that I think about it. We've found ourselves in an odd predicament, haven't we?"

Joker narrowed his eyes. "And what do you mean by that?"

"One person close to Nijima-san wants to change her heart above all else. And another wants the complete opposite - and we Thieves only have one choice to make, in the end."

"Ugh. Don't make this some debate club kind of thing. I'm not interested."

"But we do have to choose," Goro said gently. "And at this point I'm agnostic. If you want to make your case to the rest of the Thieves, you'll have to do it yourself. I can't do it for you when I don't know the answer myself."

"... alright," the boy said. "But they're your people. Not mine. I can't make them listen when most of them don't even like me."

"Don’t be silly. Haven't Panther and Noir and Fox been the the epitome of grace since you joined the Thieves?"

Joker blurted out, "You think _Fox_ is nice to me?"

Goro grinned. "Yusuke usually splits apart those he doesn't like with his katana, so yes. Tell him about how you used to take calligraphy lessons. Arrange a vase for his dorm room. Buy him a sandwich, maybe. He'll be all ears for what you have to say after that."

"I'm here to convince the Thieves to find an alternative to changing Sae-san's heart. Not flirt and sashay myself into their bosom hearts."

He spoke like one who had never heard of Confidants before, and maybe so. "Make _friends_ , Akira," Goro said. "And open your heart up to other people. Not just me. Besides, you bought me dinner yesterday, didn’t you? So you certainly know how to make someone feel special.

"Remember what I said, and reflect on it. That's an order from your leader," he said, and turned heel, and walked out.

* * *

“Dice or slots,” said Oracle once they’d gotten the spiel from the Shadow at the counter and an honourary gift of one thousand coins on the Nakanomatsu card. After a moment’s consideration, Goro had asked if he could borrow against the total and put it on the Tanaka card. The Shadow had agreed, and now both their cards were loaded and viable. (No, Goro didn’t mean anything by it.) Leading to...

“Dice,” said Goro. “We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.”

“Slots,” said Joker, all suave again in front of the Thieves. “High risk, high reward.”

“Okay, _well_ ,” said Panther. “Have any of us gambled before? How do we know if we can even win?”

“Only one way to find out,” Oracle said, already pushing open the doors to the dice room.

“Oracle! Don’t go off by yourself like that!”

“Too late!”

And so, they ran in after her.

* * *

The dice room looked as any other in the casino: glitzy, gaudy, and so far, _normal_. Only cognitions ambled lazily through the thickly carpeted floors or grumbled about their losses. Goro had already broken a few vases and got coins for his trouble, though why the casino would be giving away coins when the point was to win them through a game was lost to him.

A row of private gambling rooms welcomed them as they chased after Oracle, and the girl herself, staring at a window viewing into one of the rooms.

"There you are!" Panther said. "Hey, you do know we're on a mission here, right?"

"Yeah, but - " Oracle turned to them with a guffaw. " _Check this out._ Joker, you're gonna love it!"

And pushed open the doors to the private room, where a smiling and unmasked Kurusu Akira was the dealer behind the counter.

"What," said Goro.

 _"What?_ " said Skull.

"It makes sense," said Fox. "You and Nijima-san _are_ familiar with each other. Though the fact that your cognition is here and not on a higher floor perhaps suggests her true opinion of you. How unfortunate."

Queen frowned. "Why is Joker here but I'm not...?"

Noir squeezed her hand. "There wasn't a cognition of me in my father's Palace either. It doesn't mean your sister doesn't think about you, Makoto."

"Yeah! You might be here somewhere else," Mona said. "On the high limit floor, maybe. That _is_ where a Queen belongs, does she not?"

"Tha - thanks, Mona. That does make me feel better."

"Right, right," Oracle drawled. "Any thoughts from the lucky man himself, though?"

Joker stared at his cognition, who had yet to acknowledge them and was attending to the players present as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Goro studied the creature too. He had Joker's telltale mop of black hair, and everything else ostensibly looked the same, but the Third Eye's aura just wasn't there. He was in semi-formal dress, with a white dress shirt on with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, a black vest and pants, which made a world of difference from his usual look. He looked _bright_ too. Almost innocent.

He smiled without teeth. Goro wondered how that alone could make such a difference in how the boy came across, but it did.

(You'd think someone with Joker's sense of humour would be amused or intrigued to see something like this. But no. His mouth was set in a hard line, and his posture had gone rigid.)

"Too meek," Joker said finally.

"Since when is that a bad thing? The cognition of me in my mom's Palace was nothing like me. Hey, what are you doing?"

He walked forward and sat down in the empty center chair at the dice table. "Hit me," he said in a cold voice, sliding the Tanaka card out in front of him.

"Ah." The dealer looked at him and smiled without recognition of his lookalike, his namesake. "Would you like to play the next game? Please, let me explain the rules..."

"So we're gonna use both cards, then...?" Skull said as the dealer began. "Is that even gonna work out? What if Queen's sis is like 'uhh, you broke the rules that I clearly never explained to you and now you hafta die! Die!' ... or something like that."

"Regardless of the outcome, a backup plan is always welcome," said Fox. "Actually, now I wish I had one of my own. The prizes the man at the counter were offering _were_ rather scintillating. Oracle, could you go back downstairs and register a card for me as well?

"Never gonna happen, buddy."

"But think! We could sell the Soma to Iwai-san and split the money after. Haven't you wanted to buy some new action figures lately?"

"Now you're speaking my language!" Oracle said, and began inspecting her nails with no intention of going anywhere.

Goro tuned out their conversation and turned to the others. "Are you alright, Mako-chan?" Noir was saying in a soft voice to Queen, and a small needle sunk itself into the back of his neck and lay buried there.

On the other side of Queen Panther's arm was around her shoulder, and Mona, a feline to the end, was nuzzling her calf in comfort. Since when had they all become so close already? In his obsession with Akira, in his futile obsession with _himself_ , had Goro forgotten his other friends - forgotten that they meant something to each other, and not just him?

(They didn't need the benefit of Confidants to care about each other. They did nonetheless. Without the gift bestowed upon him by the Velvet Room, could he have ever done the same?)

Why was he still like this, to need explicit - formal - personal - one-on-one - permission before using someone's first name with them? He wanted to be more friendly with Okumura. _They were already friends._ But they hadn't spent time together in a while, and now with her father's upcoming change of heart he might not get another opportunity soon. No doubt she'd want some father-daughter time now that Okumura senior would become a new man, whereas he...

He couldn't even imagine. Even if - when - the Thieves changed Shido's heart, the thought of letting bygones be bygones and trying to be filial made Goro want to vomit. No part of him was saintly enough ever to forgive and forget.

The Phantom Thieves could change people's hearts. They couldn't change the past.

Even if you transformed into a different person altogether, that didn't wash your former sins away from the earth. The people you once hurt were still hurting, and in need of recompense. If you committed a crime, you had to turn yourself into the police (and with a 99.99% conviction rate, you'd get your just desserts right away). You'd serve your time, and afterward - _if_ you were free, _if_ you could still walk the streets after all you'd once done to reign havoc and torment and chaos upon society, you still didn't have the right to beg forgiveness of the people you once knew, beg them to be your friends again, beg them to love you again.

So what were you left with in the end?

(When he thought about it like that, the change of hearts was no promise of a better life for the targets themselves. Some of the less harmful targets in Mementos had only needed a slap in the right direction to wake their senses, but the Palace rulers? The cat killer in Shibuya? The wandering assassin? What did they deserve after their hearts had been changed? Wasn't a life in prison good enough? Wasn't it enough they were still alive to repent?

... idiot, you know it's not that easy. Stop ignoring the flaws of Japan's legal system just because you don't want to think about what happens to your targets after you've taken everything from them. You know from experience the police only care about looking good and harassing orphan boys who stay out after curfew on a school night. You're here to change Nijima Sae's heart because she threatened to have a group of teenagers arrested without proof just to regain some lost pride. No one involved in this is innocent.)

Did that justify the Thieves' actions, then?

(It has to. Look at Ann and Ryuji and tell them Kamoshida's agency meant more than their freedom. Look at Yusuke and break his heart for the second time in a week. Look at Makoto and tell her even yakuza thugs who trafficked in extortion and sex slavery have the right to do anything beyond live and breathe and _grovel_. Look at Okumura - _Haru_ \- Okumura and say her father should have been allowed to continue abusing his employees and using her as a prize in his game of influence just so he didn't have to feel a shred of conscience for his vile behaviour. It was the truth. _Without the Thieves' actions Okumura senior would never have changed._ Some people didn't. Whether the distortion in them was too strong or they had simply been born wrong, they _wouldn't_ change unless something greater than them forced them to, and the change of hearts forced them to change forever. They'd never be like that again, they'd never hurt people again, so _why was his mind swirling and his head continued to hurt?_ )

(... look at Akira, and ask him why not changing Nijima Sae's heart is so important to him when he did it to Nakanohara and countless smaller targets in Mementos for his own selfish gain as the Third Eye. Why does he get to pin this on you? Why does he have to take _her_ side and not yours? You're the one he likes, right? So why? Why can't he just be a nice boy for once and stop making you _think_ when you're with him?)

 _Look at yourself, Goro, and stop taking this all in as if nothing else matters but your own despair,_ Robin whispered. _You are not alone. Ask for help!_

"Crow, is something wrong?"

His eyes snapped open. Noir was looking at him with worry. Of _course_ she was.

"... it's just a migraine," he said, feigning calm. His mask felt heavy. He took it off, and wiped the sweat on his brow with his gloved hand.

 _Calm your breath,_ Robin said. _One, two, three..._

"I'm sorry to hear that," said she. "This Palace must be unbearably stressful on you. You've had to talk to Nijima-san more than anyone else, and..." She bit her lip. "I don't know if I'm lucky or not that she doesn't know about me."

"It's lucky," he assured her. "Can you imagine if she'd contacted your father about your involvement? What he'd have done to us would have been much worse than anything the police have in store."

An uneasy chuckle passed through both of them. "You're right," Noir said. "It really is a good thing he's going to change, isn't it? I wonder what he'll be like from now on..."

Smile. Smile, you fool, smile. "I'm sure he'll be a good man from now on. The one you always deserved to have as a father."

"Yes." She smiled. "I'm sure of that too."

(She has more faith in you than you do. So why can't you just take it and be grateful? Why do you keep questioning everything?)

His head was beginning to throb again. Desperate to distract himself, Goro said, "I beg your pardon, but may I call you Haru?"

The other Thieves had now congregated around Joker's seat and the table, the previous players having abandoned the room for another. So even cognitions knew sense, when they were being crowded out.

"Dude, you keep _losing!_ " Skull was hollering, thumping Joker on the back. "It's cool if you wanna stop, you know."

"He's absolutely right. There is more honour in retreating against an unassailable opponent than continuing to batter oneself just for show."

"No, no, keep going," Oracle said with a shit-eating grin on her face. "I wanna see how far you think this strategy will take you."

"It's fine. We still have the other card, and Crow."

"Mm hmm! Plus, he's technically playing against his own cognition. That's gotta be personal!"

"Well, _I_ believe in you, Joker," said Mona, straining up on a chair to look at the dice. "You can do it. Just keep going!"

"Would you like to try again?" said the dealer with his gentle smile, and with gritted teeth Joker said:

" _Yes_."

"Haru...?" Noir said, breaking Goro's stare on what was happening behind her. "I never thought you'd ask, Crow."

His skin felt flushed to the touch. Was it? With his gloves on he could never tell. "I suppose I have a reputation for being excessively formal, and you _are_ part of the team now."

"We've known each other for a while, yes," she said, twisting her fingers together. "To think, when you first offered to carry those bags of soil up to the school rooftop for me it would lead to something as extraordinary as this. The past month has been _surreal_ for me."

"But not too much, hopefully?"

"Not at all." Her eyes made a half-moon as she smiled, cheeks rounding out with pleasure. "Even though we're under quite the deadline at the moment, I'm happier than I've ever been in my life. I've never had so many friends before."

"Neither have I," Goro said, and when her hands stilled, and she looked at him for a long, slow, careful moment, realised she could see right through him - and it didn't matter.

"Call me Haru, Goro," Noir said. "And please... thank you for inviting me onto this adventure. I'll never forget it."

* * *

"It's rigged," Joker said.

Skull's eyes bugged out. "Yeah, we KNEW that like twenty minutes ago. Did you _really_ have to run your coins down to nothing before you'd believe it, though?"

The boy just held out his empty hands and shrugged.

"Well, what now?" said Panther. "We're not going to win like this, so..." She snapped her fingers. "Wait! Oracle, maybe you can hack into a computer again?"

"Of course," said Fox. "If we could get our members' cards via false pretenses, we should be able to do the same here."

"You mean cheating."

"I _meant_ , rigging the game in our own favour."

"Yeah, that's what cheating is." Oracle stretched. "Got it. We just need to find a way into the backroom, then."

"You... did your best, Joker," Queen said in a strained voice. "So thank you for your effort. Even if it didn't turn out the way you wanted."

(Was it just Goro, or did was there a hint of schadenfreude in her disappointment? This could be a problem.)

"Guys, look!" Mona was already out of the room. "There's a vent here! Come on, let's go."

"Thieves! In formation!" Oracle marched out at once. Fox gave Goro a look of concern when he left - which he knew, he _knew_ \- and Noir a forgiving smile.

Once more it was just the two of them. Three, technically. No, two again. He should be honest.

"Does it bother you that much?" Goro said, jerking his head in the offending direction. "Him?"

Now that the game had ended, the dealer stood politely with his hands clasped behind his back, that same inoffensive smile on his face. Did cognitions tire? Did they get bored of their jobs, did they get restless or wander from their stations if things didn't go the way they'd once dreamed?

Or did they just stand calmly under those bright glossy lights without end unless a guest came to play and be scammed? Did the dealer - who was not Akira, nor Joker, or Kurusu - enjoy what he was doing?

Did he even have the capacity to feel and act and behave one- _tenth_ of what Goro had just thought about him?

In a dull voice Joker said, "Don't tell me you'd like it any better if it was you back there."

No. In all likelihood he'd shoot it on first sight just to avoid hearing what someone else's perception of him thought of him. But Goro had yet to face that hurdle himself, and therefore could be magnanimous. Patronizing.

"It's not you," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"But it's what Sae-san thinks of me." Joker glowered. "Why am I so docile? So weak? I thought - she _knows_ me, so why am I like that?"

Like what? Someone who was exactly as he appeared to be at first sight?

" _Akira_ ," Goro said. "As far as cognitions go, the dealer just seems like a nice person. It's true he doesn't have your... flair, but is that something to dislike him for? Regardless of our current situation, Njima-san thinks you're kind and decent at heart. Why not take it for what it is?"

"Because it's not me," said Joker, and walked out.

* * *

"He doesn't mean that," Goro ended up reassuring the dealer, as if the cognition even knew he was a figment of a figment of the imagination, as if he knew he was giving his original an existential crisis, as if he cared.

The boy just blinked and said, "It's quite alright. Would you like to play a game? The first one's on the house."

He was soft. So soft. Goro was tempted too. To spend time with a cognition of Joker - of Akira, who might give him some insight into the real deal even if he had the innocence of a lamb and the complexity of soft serve ice cream -

"Maybe next time," he said, and winked. "I'm sure I'll be a much better player than the one who just left right now. I won't even sulk if I lose."

"I'm sure of it too, Crow," said the dealer, and smiled at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so tons of thoughts here:
> 
> Sorry for the delay in posting, y'all. The Nijima arc was the second Hard One for me after Medjed, and tbh I'm not sure how it'll go down yet. BUT after that it should be smooth sailing, right? Haha (gets shoved off stage).
> 
> Playing up on the two Wild Cards' "compare and contrast" lives, whereas Goro is a Poor Boy from a Poor Family, Akira here is from a deeply traditional Japanese clan with old roots and despite his words, hella money. Yes, baby Akira had lots of kimono. We might find out more about it later. Maybe.
> 
> Writing a fic with so many main characters is a genuine struggle when they're all in a scene together and talking, so I hope I managed to give everyone their fair due. It's hard!! I decided to push off the Destinyland trip for later (for better impact hehe). Haru is going to become more prominent for a bit. So is Makoto, who is... antsy. Yusuke could work his charm on Akira (and me). I hope the slower pacing of what's to come doesn't bother people, because I've counted out how many chapters are left, and while there's technically only 4-5 arcs left, the chapter length is... greater.
> 
> The haiku Akira recited is by the famous Japanese poet Basho. Don't want to get accused of plagiarism lol.
> 
> And Karuizawa is a ritzy tourist town in Japan, ergo Goro's reaction. I know this bc when in Keyakitte, Keyakizaka46's Captain Sugai Yuuka talked about her family having a villa there the other girls nearly had a heart attack lol. Akira a fancy boy!
> 
>  **Next time** : It's Thieves vs Thieves as Crow and Joker make teams to see who can get more coins out of the casino quicker. The dice game and slots commence! Goro continues to work on his Confidants. Makoto struggles to cope, and Yusuke makes a friend at school. Akira has fun.


	20. Steal Nijima's heart II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chain breaks on Goro's heart, leading to...?

**20\. Steal Nijima's heart II**

The hunt was on again.

They crawled through the vents into another backroom and devastated every Shadow in their wake. All of Goro's slots were full, so he occasionally negotiated for money or items, but experience was the gift that kept on giving. He became stronger, quicker, more spirited with every skill attained. Shiki-Ouji sighed; Hariti crooned; the bells rung on Sarasvati’s ankles.

There was nothing strange or hypocritical about continuing to kill Shadows while debating the morality of changing the hearts of people. Shadows weren't human.

(So what were they?)

His thoughts caught up to him. A Valkyrie sliced Goro on the cheek and left blood dripping, even after she perished. It was Mona who hopped up with a, "Crow, be careful!" and sealed his skin shut with an unnecessarily potent Diarahan.

Goro blinked down at the cat, only realizing then he was there, and that his face no longer stung with numbing effort. "Mona, I could have just taken a drink."

"You weren't going to," Mona said, and that was that.

Goro touched his healed cheek with a white gloved hand and wondered if that was true.  _I take care of myself, don't I?_

Robin Hood didn't respond to that, the dullard, but sweet Sarasvati murmured, _a king has his reasons._

Yes. That must be right.

No matter. It was merely a few more hallways of merry slaying and stealing, and then they were peeking past a corner once more at a powerful Shadow standing guard just yonder a room full of computers and security cameras, Oracle holding her hand up in anticipation before she gave the thumbs up and hissed, "Hit it!"

A single Shadow didn't need eight of them clobbering (with Oracle on support) for it to go down. Goro took Joker, Panther, and Mona for the ride, and it went down in half a dozen turns.

"Whoo!" said Panther when it was over, looping her whip before pinning it back to her waist. "They're not getting any easier, are they?"

"You all did valiantly," Fox said as he and the others approached from the safety of the hallway. Panther beamed, and Mona preened. Even Joker gave a crooked smile in turn.

Goro was just proud. Fox always knew what to say. Whether this positivity had always been a part of him deep inside or he had made yet another transformation since their talk at the church, he could expect the boy to lift the team's spirits time and time again.

(Now, if only you could manage the same.)

"So we're hacking this thing, huh," said Skull, running fingers across one of the keyboards. "You really hafta ask what's going through the mind of a prosecutor whose Shadow's all about telling us to win at a game she knows is rigged from the start."

"That's what the legal system's like, unfortunately," Queen said quietly. Her shoulders sagged low as she stared at the various screens of customers in the dice rooms. Cognitions though they were, the sight of them losing without fail to a row of impassive dealers, Akira among them, made Goro's heart heave.

It was a puppet show without a puppeteer, without an audience. Who were the cognitions performing for? Didn't they ever get tired of acting like this?

 _They're not human_ , he reminded himself. _They don't have feelings. They're not like you._

Sometimes Goro hardly felt human either. But that was neither here nor there. Only material for a therapist one day, and no one else.

"Prosecutors have a ninety nine point ninety nine percent conviction rate," said Joker. "What are the chances of people playing fair _there_ , you think?"

"It means the cops are crooked." Queen unhinged her jaw to add: "Including Sis."

"I wouldn't go so far. Sae-san's only just doing this because all her other cases were stolen from her - "

"Bullshit! Stop defending her!" She slammed a fist of brass knuckles down on a counter. The whole station trembled, and left an imprint of her stressed fist. "Joker, are you on Sis' side or ours?!"

"Whoa!" said Mona. "Calm your jets, Queen! Stay cool!"

In a hurry Noir said, "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it. We're just all under a lot of stress. Right, Crow?" She looked to Goro for guidance.

"Right," he echoed. "It's going to take Oracle some time to crack the code. Feel free to sit out for a moment, Queen."

"... I will," she said. "Thanks."

And trudged off, Noir trailing behind her as they disappeared behind a corner.

"Can I - " said Panther, looking between Goro and the hallway.

"Go, go." He waved a hand, and Panther took off alongside Mona. "This isn't a classroom. No one is going to be punished for feeling under the weather."

"Oh yeah?" Oracle said as she sat down in a chair and rolled it towards the main computer to start her bidding. "I remember it going down differently when _I_ was in a huff and puff."

Was she still in a mood about it? "I gave myself a time out too," Goro said, leaning against the counter. "Remember that?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Yeah, I do. That was kind of funny, no offense."

"Offense taken." He rolled his neck. "It's important to remove yourself from an unproductive situation when only negative emotions are escalating and you increase the risk of hurting yourself and anyone else involved."

"Ooh, Crow coming at us with all the self-care knowledge. I love it."

Fox turned to Joker, up against a wall with his arms crossed, and said, "I beg pardon, Joker, but is there a reason for you continuing to favour Nijima-san, even with her pursuit of us?"

"Yeah," said Skull, hands jammed in his pockets. "I wanna know too. Is there something you know about her we don't?"

Joker looked at Goro.

Goro nodded, but said nothing.

_Show me your silver tongue, Akira. Show me what you can do._

(Prove to me you can be a Phantom Thief, and I'll never doubt you again.)

"I..." Joker took off his mask, held it between his hands and stared down. "What I meant by what I said earlier was... I don't think Sae-san's Palace is natural."

Fox blinked. "She has a Palace, does she not? Are her desires not distorted?"

"Yeah, but they're not a _part_ of her. She has a vendetta against the Thieves now - against us," as if just remembering he was a part of the team. "But it wasn't like that before. When I first met her a year and a half ago, she was sharp as a whip and cared about the same things we do. She didn't become a prosecutor because she wanted to put away innocent people or make her record look good. If it was just that she would have never listened to me when I was just some shady moron who came in off the streets with only anecdotes about some local corrupt scumbags and nothing else. No one else at all the police stations I went to gave a rat's ass."

"Goodness." Fox looked curious now. "Is that how you began your reign as the Third Eye? You gave tips from your work in Mementos to Nijima-san, and she had targets arrested for you?"

Joker shrugged. "Something like that. I started doing stuff on my own too. I only ever wanted to work with Sae-san, and the other cops thought I was just making it up anyway. So." A grin touched his lips. "Actually, she's the one who wrote me my recommendation letter to Kosei. Told me that if I wasn't in school at least twice a week from now on she'd kick my ass."

"What! You mean you weren't in school for a while? Lucky!"

Knowing the reason for that, Goro couldn't be as enthusiastic. "That was respectable of Nijima-san."

"Her actions indeed seem worthy," Fox said. "What happened, then?"

"Like I said. I think the higher ups are jacking her cases to tank the rulings against the targets." Joker crossed his arms. "The _Thieves_ ' targets. Madarame and Kaneshiro. Both big, big suspects." He had turned his gaze elsewhere, so he couldn't see Fox stiffen or Skull grimace. "Getting a guilty verdict on either of them would have shot up Sae-san's reputation to the stratosphere. And she's a good prosecutor, so she would have gotten it done." He frowned. "It was just her own assignment at first. Then she asked me to help out - the people at work weren't cooperating. Now, I know Sae-san, but I usually give her the cases, not the other way around, so I knew something was up. And then - when the Madarame case was given from her and given to some seventy-year-old bag who hadn't been on a real court case in ten years, I figured she was being screwed over on purpose."

Oracle's fingers stilled on the keyboard for a moment, then went back to typing.

"Can't be a coincidence, huh."

"Nah," said Joker, glancing in her direction. "The same way it's not a coincidence how the real Sayuri's hanging in Leblanc and not in an evidence vault somewhere."

Goro jolted. Fox said, "How did you - "

"You're not going to rat us out, are you?" demanded Skull, eyes wide open and fists rearing to go.

"No," said Joker. "I think it's exactly where it belongs.

"And it's lovely," he added in a soft voice.

He didn't know what the other Thieves did, and so couldn't know how it would affect Fox. A flush overcame the boy's pale skin, went all the way from his brow down to his elegant wrists.

"It is of my mother's make," Fox said. "She painted it before she passed. It was... to prove her love and devotion for me."

"Ah." Joker tilted his head. "So the little guy in the painting is you?"

A nod.

"She had good taste, then," he said, and Fox turned away to wipe his eyes. Goro didn't have a handkerchief on him, but he did have the sense to turn his own attention elsewhere.

"Since when did _you_ become such a softie?" said Skull, slinging an arm around Fox's shoulder. "Come on, don't embarrass yourself in front of the newbie."

"Skull," intoned Oracle in a deadpan. "I vow to make you cry like a baby in front of all of Japan one day, just for that."

"Thank you, Futaba, but I believe Ryuji is just teasing."

"Tease better next time," she grumbled, and Goro leaned over and squeezed her on the shoulder.

"Just a joke," he mouthed.

"Yeah, yeah." She went back to typing. "Ugh, this stuff is nearly impenetrable..."

"I beg your forgiveness, Joker," Fox said once he recovered. "I believe we were talking about you and Sae-san?"

"Yeah, I guess. What more do you want to know?"

"You can tell us why you think the bigwigs didn't want Madarame and Kaneshiro to go to jail," Skull said. "Plus, you did say a while ago you thought Madarame was murdered. What was up with that?"

That was easy. "It's Shido," Goro said. "Trying to get rid of the evidence of his wrongdoing in case even if a useless prosecutor couldn't do it for him."

"What, so you think he tried to get rid of both the case and our targets, then? But what proof do we have?"

In a legal system where confessions were law, what did evidence matter? But alas, they weren't in an interrogation room with the bald schemer right now. If only Goro could put a bullet in his head and claim self-defense.

(No. No, that's not the way and you know it. You know better than to indulge in stupid fantasies like this. You're not thirteen any more, Goro.)

"We only have suspicions and anecdotes, yes," he admitted. "But there have been rumours swirling around Shido for years, and both Madarame and Kaneshiro had someone pulling their strings from behind the scenes. Plus, Isshiki-san was convinced the men who came after her - who worked for Kaneshiro, purportedly - were from Shido. And when we changed their hearts in Mementos, they knew something was strange about their employer. Not much else, alas, but even if a pair of common thugs could tell something was up, then..."

"It's messed up Kaneshiro could even screw people over in Shibuya for so long without the cops finding out," said Skull. "Both you and Makoto got caught so easily by his assholes - no offense - that it's crazy the police would never try a sting operation or something like that."

"I thought that myself." Not that he wanted to recall the time he'd been a human test dummy, but...

"Sensei was always hunting for money to extract, whether from me or his mockups of the Sayuri," said Fox, rubbing his arms. "I thought it was greed alone that consumed him - want of fame, and luxury, and material attainment. But to think he found himself in such a situation to be blackmailed for years - what a fool. I don't know whether to pity him or be glad he received his just desserts in the end." He winced. "Not that I looked forward to his death. Only..."

"It would have been interesting," said Goro. "To see what might have become of him after his rehabilitation."

"Exactly."

"... hey," said Skull. "You think anything could have happened if Madarame hadn't been a scumbag and instead went to the cops when he was first blackmailed? Joker, you got an idea?"

"Hard to say." The boy pursed his lips. "Madarame ran in high circles too - but just because you're a power broker one day doesn't mean it's easy sailing for life. If there's one thing I've learned about power it's that people with it don't like to share."

"He sold fakes to a lot of influential people," said Oracle. "You sure no one wanted to take him down just for that?"

"A _lot_ of people have more pride than sense. You'd be surprised what people want to cover up and hide just so they can avoid public embarrassment, even if they had nothing to do with being tricked in the first place. Plus, the one blackmailing him wouldn't want Madarame's secrets out either. They'd want to protect their own hide no matter what."

"Especially if a teen detective and a concerned citizen went skulking for answers," Goro said, and found Joker grinning at him. They still had a partnership, didn't they? He stretched, lifting his arms above his head. "We should all be so glad Nakanohara-san stole those papers from Madarame's vault so long ago and kept them just in case a pair of ne'er doers like us came around."

"I owe you my thanks for changing my former senpai's heart and bringing him back to his senses," said Fox. "Truly."

"Aw, I was doing it for myself, really," said Joker. "The money his ex was offering me to get him to go away was all the incentive I needed to get off my ass and work. I had no idea changing his heart would lead to this bombshell though."

No. Who could have?

"You did good, man," said Skull, and Joker glowed with pleasure.

"I'm sure we'll find the truth of everything in Shido's Palace," Goro said. He loathed to break up the cozy atmosphere, but they didn't have forever here. "Even if he's not responsible for Madarame and Kaneshiro's deaths, the fact that he has a Palace is worth getting rid for him for society's sake alone."

"You mean to change his heart," Fox said, looking at him intently.

He dug nails into the soft flesh of his upper arm. "Of course. Anything else would be ridiculous."

"And _illegal_ ," said Skull. "We're the good guys, after all."

"Yeah! We're white hats and stuff!" said Oracle. "Grey hats, really, but whatevs. Point being: Phantom Thieves don't kill."

 _Or rampage_ , Goro thought, biting his tongue firmly so he couldn't say it aloud.

"There's still the matter of Nijima-san's Palace," Fox said. "Joker, from what you've said it seems the distortion in her heart is recent, and not derived from her own personality but external stress due to her workplace and a corrupt employer. Are you suggesting that if we removed her distortion by less fantastical means, we might not have to change her heart in the Metaverse after all?"

"Well... yeah." Joker seemed flabbergasted Fox got it right away. "It's not like I'm opposed to the mission at hand. I'm just... worried that if we change her heart, we'll change everything else about her too - the parts that care about justice, and working within the system to reform it, and her job as a prosecutor. You can't take back something like this, can you?"

"Nah," said Skull. "But what do you think we gotta do then? Because I'm hella sure she hates us." He winced. "Except Haru senpai, and it's gonna bring wayyy more problems if we let _those_ two get together for a friendly talk over tea and rice crackers."

Goro wanted to keep Noir away from Nijima as far as possible too. Okumura senior's change of heart had yet to fully take place, and if they could prove through his improved ways how the change of hearts benefited society - harmed no one save the target's original black hole of a personality - then perhaps she'd believe them and drop her vendetta.

Perhaps. It was only speculation at the moment. Perhaps Okumura senior was so morally corrupt the change of heart would turn him into a vegetable. That would be something else.

"Yo, Joker," Oracle said, pushing away from the computer and turning her chair around. "I got a question for you then. Why do you care if Nijima quits her job and takes up knitting instead? Why does Mister "Fuck The Cops" care about a prosecutor _staying_ a prosecutor?"

Goro frowned. "Futaba, that's a bit much. Don't you remember your own words to your mother when we were in her Palace about wanting her to change of her own accord and not through a forced method - "

"Crow. Stop defending your boyfriend right now and let the new guy talk." She crossed one leg over the other. "Well?"

Fox made a flat line with his mouth, but said nothing. Skull just looked at Goro with a helpless flail of his hands, but he shook his head. It wasn't their fight.

"Oh." Joker scratched his nose. "So we're going into debate club stuff, huh?"

"You can't tell me a guy like you wouldn't just prefer to say fuck it and burn shit down," said Oracle. "Can you?"

"Hey. Do I look like a nihilist to you?"

"I don't know!" She shrugged, sinking back into her chair. "You look confused, to be honest. First you're this super cool guy on TV who shits on the cops every chance he gets and solves cases no one else can figure out, and that's awesome! I love stuff like that! Then you're the guy who harasses poor Crow over here at Leblanc and kind of makes him happy and kind of not? Then you two go nerd-hunting together, which, cute, but isn't as productive as you maybe thought. And then your old colleague straight up wants to sell you out to a bunch of cops and get you arrested for something you never did, and you join our team - again, because Crow does what Crow wants - and you want to... defend this woman and not change her heart? What's up with that? What exactly do you want out of this?"

My God. Goro wouldn't have blamed Joker for losing his temper then. Oracle - Futaba could be indelicate at the best of times, but this would have set even him off if he'd been on the receiving end. And yet -

Joker _grinned_.

"You got all night, Oracle?" he said, a glimpse of white fang peeking out from between his pale lips. "Because I can spill my whole beans to you and the crew right here and tell you why even a heartless piece of shit like me doesn't want everyone going up in flames when society burns to ash. Is a guy like me not allowed to show more than one face to the world? Am I supposed to be exactly what you think of me at first sight so I don't scare and confuse you with my feelings?"

_Why else would we wear masks, then?_

"Hey," she said, smarting back. "I didn't mean it like that, jackass."

"Tell me what you meant, then," he said, and she fell silent.

Good grief. So much for the team-building exercise. Goro opened his mouth when Fox made a sign with his hand, and stopped him.

"Joker," he said. "This Nijima-san is a friend to you... correct?"

Joker nodded, wound up as tight as a metal coil. "I'm allowed to have friends, right?"

"Yeah," Oracle said. "Of course you are. Sorry."

And turned back to the computer and sat still in her chair.

"Look..." Skull said. "I get it. I _do_. I don't give a shit about changing the hearts of our other targets because they already did horrible stuff to people, and our stuff is about making them own up to it. But Queen's sis hasn't really done anything to us, has she? She's threatened us, and yeah, what she's done already is fucked up, but - but - "

"She's on the edge of falling," Goro said. "But she hasn't chosen yet whether to jump or step back."

"Yeah, yeah! I get that. But how do we get her to walk _away_ from this when if she doesn't we could all go to jail? I can't break my mom's heart again, guys." He dragged a hand through his hair. "It's screwed up if you think about it, but at least with a change of heart we _know_ she's going to turn out a better person. So why do we have to question what we do now? Why do we have to worry about stuff that doesn't matter so long as we're doing good and helping people?"

His voice cracked at the end. Joker was silent, but Fox took off his mask, and his gaze was wet again.

"Of course it matters, Ryuji," he said, in a voice as soft as the wind, as sweet as safflowers. "We're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. We're not villains. We don't go after people just because we dislike them or their values differ from ours, and we certainly don't go after innocents." Oracle snorted, and he pursed his lips, but went on. "Now, whether Nijima-san is innocent in her actions - no. Her tactics have been underhanded and likely illegal. That the distortion in her heart has grown to the extent of her Palace means that whatever turmoil she's going through presently won't vanish with a snap of the fingers if we let her be. But perhaps it would be unfair not to let her choose for herself. Do we not believe in justice? In freedom of the self?"

"We also believe in not getting arrested for doing the right thing," said Oracle. "Change her heart and get it over with."

"She doesn't _deserve_ that," said Joker.

"Why not!" she snapped. " _Say_ something, Crow! And _don't_ bring up my mom again or I'm going to shove Prometheus down your throat."

Four sets of eyes turned with anticipation to Goro, and all the blood and water left his body, leaving only sweat and fear and his own ragged beating heart.

Him?

Why _him?_

What sense of morality did Goro have to begin with apart from an attachment to those who had been kind to him over the years? He would bury a hatchet in someone's head for Ogawa-sensei. He would have shot Kamoshida point blank if Ann or Ryuji had asked, and if Yusuke had wanted to tear Madarame's corpse to pieces he would only have egged him on.

Wasn't that _him_ , after all?

Wasn't he the kind of person who, despite his soft spoken words of justice and fairness and understanding, thought revenge the most healing form of therapy around?

It was.

It had to be.

Because, if he wasn't -

Because if he had his own opinion of the situation beyond mediating between Joker's - beyond Akira's, and Yusuke's, and Futaba's -

If he had his own beliefs on what to do with Nijima Sae and the other Thieves disagreed, how long could he keep them together as a team?

How could he expect them to still call him friend if they no longer shared the same cause, fought the same fight? What did he have to give them in the world without his use of multiple Personas, and access to the Velvet Room? There was no reason he was their leader beyond age and happenstance. Ann was the most empathetic, the one who understood people as they were and didn't take their flaws and successes as a burden to absorb unto herself. Ryuji embodied a true sense of righteousness and grasped how it felt to be the ant squashed underneath a boot - and unlike Goro didn't dream of lashing out at others for the injury, but helped them up right away. He didn't have a hateful bone in his body, and it was suffocating to know Goro wasn't the same way.

Yusuke had better justification to be leader than he. Yusuke was moral, and quick-witted, and gracious, and full of life. Yusuke dreamed, and hoped, and loved with every pore of his being. It was good they weren't together, because Goro would have only contaminated him with his own insecurity. Yusuke deserved someone better - someone who, despite his lofty words at the church that evening, still couldn't help putting him on a pedestal and adoring him blindly. 

_You can't touch him. He's better than you in every way. He's perfect, and what are you, Akechi Goro, what are you -_

(I'm not anyone.)

Makoto had spit and Makoto had fire. Makoto, despite the strain in her life, didn't have neuroses, not like him. She was like a dragon slowly woken, but when she did nothing mattered but her conviction. Where had it come from? Goro wanted that certainty, that comfort and calm. (He didn't want to feel like this.) Futaba was clever and funny and unafraid. She knew what she wanted and tore off like a firecracker to get it. Her speech was vulgar, but her heart was true. His heart was the opposite. 

He didn't have Morgana's excuse. He wasn't _lost_ the same way the cat was. Goro knew where he'd come from. He wasn't some a lotus blossoming in mud, he wasn't an infant brought down from the heavens and laid to sleep in bamboo. He was just the result of a miserable, self-involved union, the bastard son of a corrupt politician and his barely legal mistress. There was no honour in the night that conceived him.

He couldn't be Haru, whose upbringing was so privileged that he could only tease her for it because if he thought about it seriously the jealousy would burst out of him like a parasite that had consumed all from its rotting host. She was courteous - but of course, she had trained to be - she was sweet, but of course she was, _look at her_ \- she was compassionate, because nothing in her life before the engagement had been tragedy for her before.

(That was the truth, wasn't it? It had to be. Noir was a hobby for her, something to idle away the time before she became a capitalist too, one day, and stepped over the little people in her heels - )

And Akira.

It didn't matter if Akira was the Warden. What could Goro even do to him? Turn him in? Kiss him, kill him, kiss him again? Make him repeat all the poems he knew until his tongue fell off and he died of thirst?

If Akira turned out to be the other trickster, would that make Goro happy or only resent him more? He had had such an _illustrious_ family back home in Karuizawa. He'd gone to ikebana lessons, he'd gone to tea ceremony lessons, he had worn kimono that cost more than anything Goro or his mother ever knew in their lives, and before the arrest he'd had nothing in the world to complain about. So what if he had been in juvenile detention. Goro had lived in one since the day his mother died.

_Why is your suffering worth more than mine, Akira? Why do you get to drive people berserk because one thing went wrong for you when I've had to be perfect my whole life or I would have been destroyed?_

_You think you're the one who's lost in this world, but you - I don't get you._

_I would kill to have been in your place._

_I would kill to have what you once had._

_I would kill to have._

_I would kill to._

_I would kill._

_I would._

_I._

And there was nothing but the soft murmuring swell of his Personas in his mind, trying to comfort him, trying to calm him down. Shiki-Ouji sighed, and Hariti crooned again. The bells rung on Sarasvati's ankles. _My king, my king, my king -_

 _My poor boy,_ Robin Hood whispered. _You cannot win this fight alone._

Akechi Goro knew that.

Which was why it helped absolutely no one when he opened his mouth in a vapid O and said, "I - " then stopped, for he could no longer see out of his mask for the sudden tears coming down his face, and the looks on Fox and Skull and Oracle and Joker's face when they realized they had something to do with it.

* * *

"How far do you think this Palace goes?" Panther said, when they had gone far enough and could no longer hear the others' voices. "Like, if we went outside the casino and started walking in any direction, do you think we'd hit a hard wall somewhere or could we keep going forever?"

"I don't know," said Makoto. "Does it matter?"

Her head pounded with the strain of keeping Anat out. _You're not helping, you're not helping_ , she kept repeating until the Persona lapsed into silence and left her be. Not that it meant much, with Panther and Noir and Mona following her like ducklings.

"Well, I think about it," said the other girl. "Don't you ever wonder what's going on?"

The only thing Makoto wondered was what she meant by that. "No," she said, and kept walking.

"Queen!" said Mona. "If we stray too far the Shadows might respawn, and then - "

"I don't care," she snapped. "I feel like beating the crap out of some right now."

Panther flinched and Mona jerked to a stop on his stubby feet. God, but why did they have to be like this? It would have been better if they stayed behind and let her sort out her anger on her own. Now - now -

Now her mask was heavy on her, and she wanted to fling it to the floor and crush it beneath her heel.

Why did Joker have to take Sae's side, and why did Crow have to take _his_ side?

Why was it beginning to feel like she was alone again?

"Queen," said Noir, gazing at her with warm hazel eyes behind her pale mask, hands clasped as if in prayer. "You're not going to drive us away by behaving like this. You know that, right?"

"Yeah." Panther's tone softened. "Makoto... we _are_ in this together. Just because we fight a little doesn't mean it has to be the end of the world."

"Tell us what's bothering you," said Mona. "And we'll figure it out."

"We," said Makoto.

"Did you want Crow to come after you?"

She balked. "No! Why would I? I'm not some child to be comforted just because I'm upset - "

"But you are upset," Noir added, and she couldn't refute that.

"What I want..." Makoto screwed her eyes shut. "What I want is to know what we're doing here. With this plan, with Sis, with this Palace, with Joker - " She kicked the wall. "Damn it, why is Crow like that with him?"

"Like...?" 

"Like a friend. Like a lover. I don't know." She groaned, hit her back against the wall and slumped down. "My God, I thought we had a plan. I thought we were spying on him to make sure he wasn't the Warden, wasn't going to sabotage us. Now he's our friend? Now he's one of us? Why the _hell_ did Goro let him in?"

Panther shook her head, pigtails trembling as she did. "He was going to find out eventually, Makoto. Your sister would have let him know."

"I know," she said. "But it feels like Goro's changed the plan on us. Only, he's not letting us know. He's keeping it to himself again, because secrets are so much fun when you're in charge of eight other people and the whole of Japan!" She unhooked her mask and threw it away, where it clattered onto the bare tiled floor.

"Do you realize how messed up this all is?" she whispered. "We're spying on my sister. We're spying on Kurusu too, and for what? What the hell are we even doing?"

"I - " Panther shifted on her feet uneasily. "It's for the mission."

"What mission?" said Makoto. "Because it seems right now that Sis is going to become the next Phantom Thief and Kurusu's going to take up with Goro and get married." She breathed out through her mouth. "We're _idiots_. We don't know what we're doing."

"We do know," said Mona. "Makoto, we're the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. We save people. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what it means anymore."

"That's not true." Noir knelt in front of her, removed her mask and tucked it away. "You saved me," she said. "Without your help, I'd be in my fiancé's home right now, and who _knows_ what he would have done to me."

Oh, right. Haru's fiancé was a creep and a pervert. If he was here now Makoto would personally ensure there was never another in his likeness again.

"The Thieves could have saved you without me," she said, because it was the truth.

"So? You helped nonetheless. You punched a hundred Shadows to smoke in my father's Palace. You helped defeat him." She sucked on her lower lip. "Why do you think that's not important?"

She didn't know. "Panther. Mona. Do you think we're still doing good in the world?"

"Of course we are!" said Panther. "Do you think we've turned into villains, Makoto?"

"How could we _not_ be helping people? Look at all the targets we've taken down! Isn't it a good thing they're no longer around to keep hurting people?"

"Even the ones who are dead now?" said Makoto, and nobody could answer her.

 _My Queen_ , Anat whispered in apology. _I have wronged you. Led you astray._

 _Hush_. She didn't want to hear it right now.

"I'm scared," she said. "I think the Thieves are going down a strange path, and I'm not sure we understand what's going to happen to us if we're not careful."

"Then tell us," said Panther. "Please, don't keep it all to yourself until you burst." Her gaze was glistening. Damp.

"Yeah," said Mona. "Don't hide from us."

"Goro hides everything," Makoto said. "And he thinks we can't tell."

"Don't push him." Noir frowned. Makoto looked at her incredulously. _You're defending him too?_ But the girl set her shoulders in determination and her eyes with studied understanding.

"I always wondered why he helped me out so suddenly one day," she admitted. "We've been in the same classroom since the beginning of the year, and he never knew I was there. I knew about him, of course. The mysterious scholarship student with a shady past and a rotten attitude." She smiled. "I was watching you two, that day you came to greet him and he nearly tore your head off for something you didn't do. I truly thought he was awful then, a small and spiteful boy I should avoid at all costs. But then - " She brought a hand up to her cheek as if she could rest it against a flat surface. "I began seeing him around the school. At first with only Ann and Ryuji. I beg pardon, Ann, but I thought it was merely because no one in our year could stand him."

"Oh, yeah," said Panther with a nervous laugh. "You couldn't have known, then."

"No," Haru agreed. "And then I started seeing him with _you_ , Makoto. I couldn't understand how you became friendly after all you'd said to each other. But there you were, and I was alone, and jealous."

"What for?" Makoto stared. "You're an _Okumura_."

"At school," said Haru, "I'm a strange girl who spends her lunch hour on the rooftop and doesn't talk to anyone. I've always preferred it over the alternative, but still... I would have liked to be friends with the Student Council President, once upon a time."

"Oh." She flushed. "You could have come to me. Any time. I - I was lonely too."

"I know," Haru said. "And I wonder why it took so long for me to reach out and open myself to the friendship of others." She twisted her fingers in her lap. "No, that's not quite true. The real question is why it took me so long to _wake up_ to what was going on around me."

"You mean at Okumura Foods?" Panther said, and she nodded.

"I always thought the Phantom Thieves were fun to root for, but I could never have imagined they would target my father. They existed only in shadows and dreams and calling cards. I - " She pinked. "I bought some merchandise."

"No way," said Mona. "Did you buy anything of me?"

Haru leaned over and patted him on the head. "No one knows our identities, silly goose. How could people make merchandise of anyone in particular?"

"Oh." He wilted. "Okay, then."

"I understand your fear, Makoto," said Noir. "I'm still new to this, so it's hard for me to see anything but the glitter and joy of being a Thief. You're all so... fabulous, and I admire your strength and courage so much. You don't know what it means to see people my age rise up like this and take power into their own hands to fight against injustice." She bent her head. "And I keep thinking about how I couldn't do the same until you offered me a helping hand. Yes, you too.”

"I..." Her mouth watered. "Don't be so down on yourself. You didn't know."

"I didn't _know_ ," Noir repeated. "I was asleep. And then - bam! The Thieves woke me right up." She reached out and took Makoto's hands in her own. "You've all helped me realize there's something righteous and true in fighting for what's good in the world. Please, don't forget that either."

"Ye - yeah," said Panther. "Damn it, senpai, now you've got me crying."

"Me too!" said Mona. "Does anyone have a tissue?"

Makoto smiled wanly. "But Haru, I'm not sure what good we're doing right now. All we're trying to do is protect our own skins - "

"We did that with Medjed," said Panther, rubbing at her eyes.

"But that was for Futaba-chan, and her mother. And Goro." She bit her lip. "Do you remember when we left Isshiki-san's Palace and he cried because he couldn't help Futaba? I was paralyzed with fear. I had no idea what to do, and thank goodness Yusuke was there, because - !" She cut herself off. "I don't know why I'm smiling," she whispered. "It was the first time I realized he was a human being. Isn't that the worst of me?"

"Goro cries a lot more than you think," Mona said.

"I'm not sure you should be telling us that," Ann told him. "Senpai would hate it."

"Yeah, but - " He looked at them. "I think it's fine if people cry," he mumbled. "We're only human, after all."

And there was only so much humans could take before they could take no more, and began giving instead.

Giving what? Giving pain, giving suffering, giving hate and giving rage. Giving sorrow and giving wounds, giving grievances and giving hate.

What did Makoto want to give unto others? What did she want to give unto herself?

 _My Queen, forgive me_ , Anat murmured. _For believing anger was more just than wisdom._

But what was wisdom, in a situation like this?

Was it listening to Kurusu?

Was it listening to Sae?

Was it listening to Goro?

Was it listening to herself?

None of them had a real answer to anything. Kurusu could be a liar, a monster. Sis, someone who had gone so far in her desire to reach the top she no longer cared about how she got there. Goro - a writhing sad sack of feelings with legs and the loaded gun of being a trickster of the Velvet Room. And Makoto -

Who was she?

What did she want to do with herself?

Where did she want to go?

Who did she want to save?

If it was the Thieves or Sae, she would choose the Thieves every time. If it was the Thieves or Kurusu she would choose the Thieves every time. If it was the Thieves or Goro - if it was the Thieves or her -

If it was the Thieves or the world, where would Nijima Makoto go after she had set the world on fire?

_If it was me or you, who would you sacrifice first?_

"Makoto," Noir said. "Look at me." The girl touched her cheek, directed it gently to her own gaze. "Whatever you're feeling right now, you don't have to bear it alone. We're with you."

"Yes, but - " She shook. "My thoughts are so ugly. You can't imagine."

"After all we've been through, we can imagine a whole lot," said Panther wryly. "Haven't we been to hell and back already, senpai? Don't be so modest. Let your wild side out."

"Yeah," said Mona. "Because take it from me - when you get upset and run off by yourself from bottling it up inside, things don't tend to go too well for you!"

She laughed despite herself, a harsh, scratchy, worn out laugh. "That's not _entirely_ true, Morgana."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," she said, glancing once more in Noir's direction. "You do find a friend on occasion. If you're lucky."

" _If_ ," Noir said. " _I'm_ lucky, Makoto."

And because it made as much sense as anything else that had happened today, she leaned forward and kissed Makoto on the cheek.

* * *

The last time Goro had cried in public had been only in front of Yusuke and the cognitive Futaba, and the former comforted him by swaddling him with his arms until he could scarcely breathe from the warmth. It was as if he was small again, and his mother was holding him.

Now it was in front of Fox and Oracle and two other people, jaws wide with helplessness, Oracle screeching out of her chair flailing and saying, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I'm so sorry!" and trying to wrap her arms around him like she was a piece of elastic and he an unruly roll of paper.

"Don't touch me," he tried to say, but it came out muffled and incoherent, so he shut his mouth and screwed his eyes shut and this stupid _mask_ -

He grabbed it and threw it away from him. Fox's arm whipped out and caught it at once. "Goro," he said with concern, stepping forward. "I - "

"Five minutes," Goro gasped. "Oracle, please, get off me."

She backed off at once, hands raised in surrender. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

It wasn't her. It wasn't any of them, but his own weakness, and all the jagged disposable parts of humanity that had made him into the thing he was today.

He couldn't bear to look at Joker right now. Not the way he was.

"I just need five minutes," Goro managed in the calmest voice he could summon. "And then we'll go back to normal. Thank you."

And like a coward, stumbled out of the computer room and back to the front hall of the dice area and into the room where the cognitive Akira was dealing.

* * *

There were no other players. There was no rigged dice on the table. Only Goro with his head in his arms, and the dealer listening to him sniffle without a word of reprimand or comfort until they ceased, and a pale ungloved hand touched him on the shoulder and murmured, "Is everything alright, Crow?"

My God. To think a fucking cognition had better bedside manners than half the people he knew. "No," Goro mumbled. "No, I'm horrible."

He lifted his head nonetheless, and there the dealer was, leaning over the table and smiling a soft uncertain smile. "You _do_ look horrible. May I offer you a handkerchief?"

He laughed. "Do you have one?"

"No." He shrugged. "I thought I should offer, just in case."

(At least he was honest.)

"Akira. Do you think someone like me deserves to be loved?"

"Someone like you? What do you mean by that, Crow?"

"Goro. Call me Goro. Please." His body ached. "I'm not Crow right now. I don't think I ever was."

"Oh." The dealer closed his eyes, took an artificial breath in. "Well, I think everyone deserves to be loved, Goro. It would be pretty unfair otherwise."

"Why?" he countered in a pique of spite. "Aren't some people just born wrong? What do _they_ deserve?"

"I don't know. But I'm not sure anyone is born wrong, really." Another hesitant smile. "We were all children too, once."

"If you saw a child on the street and you knew they were going to grow up a monster - a serial killer, or someone like that - wouldn't it better if you just got rid of them before they could do any harm? Why take the risk of letting them live and destroy everyone else?"

"If it's a child," said the dealer. "Surely they can grow out of it. Why do you assume they'll _always_ be terrible just because you see the potential for it now?"

"Not potential. The truth." He grit his teeth. "If you knew for absolutely certain - "

"No." A shake of the head. "I think you're working on a faulty premise. There's no such thing as absolute certainty in this world, and I think you know that. Otherwise, why would you even be here?"

"I," Goro said, and didn't know how to answer that.

"Are you afraid of something?" the dealer said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

 _God_.

"I don't get it. Why are you nothing like him? Why is the real Akira so... like _that_ , and you're this strange magical therapist who has nothing bad to say to me, ever?"

"I don't know," the dealer said gently. "I'm only a cognition, after all. This is what Nijima-san thinks of me."

Unbelievable. "So you even know you're a fake," Goro whispered. "It doesn't bother you? Don't you ever wish you were real?"

The dealer bent forward, lowered his hand to Goro's cheek and patted him there. "Isn't _this_ real enough for you?"

"It's the Metaverse. It's not reality - "

"We're standing in reality right now." A smile. "Well, I am. You're sitting."

"You're not funny."

"I'm not," the dealer agreed. "What about the real me?"

"He's..." He sighed. "Do you think it would be strange to say he'll be the ruin of me?"

"Hmm. In a good way?"

"In _any_ way." He glared. "So, no."

"So suave and sweet on the outside. And it seems he only wants the best for you. Why not let him in? Are you afraid that he'll be exactly what he seems, or that he won't?"

"He hates you," Goro said.

"Of course he does." The dealer hummed. "Akira only wants to be seen as strong, and someone like me isn't strong. Not for him."

"Someone like you?"

"Easy to wound. Easy to kill. I'm only a cognition, so even a single bullet of yours would be the end of me. Please don't shoot me."

"I won't. I won't."

"Don't shoot yourself either."

" _What?_ " Goro said, but then the dealer resumed his normal posture and his normal smile.

"More guests are coming," he said, and then the rest of the Phantom Thieves spilled into the room and surrounded them.

* * *

Futaba tore off her goggles and let them clatter to the floor, where Skull picked them up. "I fucked up, I fucked up again - "

"Futaba," said Fox. "You did not. Please. You didn't know the conversation would affect him like that.None of us did."

"Damn it, but I of all people should know what sets him off! What the hell was wrong with me?"

At this point Joker pushed away from the wall, but Skull blocked him with an arm when he tried to leave. "Dude. He said five minutes."

"Are you serious? You mean you're going to just let him be like that?"

"Am I gonna let my friend get his shit back together so the next time I see him he doesn't tear my head off? Yeah," said Skull. "Buddy, all you'd be doing right now is poking at a wound that's still bleeding. Let it go."

After a bitter silence, Joker released the tension in his posture and went back to his original position.

"Well," said Fox. "At least you've finished, Futaba?"

"Uh, yeah," she croaked. "I, um, set the rooms to go back to normal except one. The games should be fair now. Just - the room with the fake Joker's rigged for us. We can guess any number and still win every time."

"Thanks," Joker said.

"Piss off too, asshole!" she snarled, then cringed. "Sorry. I'm doing it again. I'm such a shithead - "

" _No more_ ," Fox cut her off. "Let's regain some composure and collect our other friends before going after Goro and continuing our mission at hand."

"Oh jeez," said Skull. "We haven't even started that, have we?"

Joker shook his head. "It's my fault. I instigated everything. Sorry, Oracle."

"No, no - " She waved her hands in front of her face. "I said that whole shitty spiel to you _wanting_ you to get pissed. I don't even know why either. I'm the real newbie. At human interaction."

"Yes, we understand." Fox smiled. "There. It's not so terrible making up after an argument, is it?"

"You're one to talk. You never have to say sorry for _anything_."

"Yeah, take some lessons from Buddha over here," said Skull. He tossed her goggles back over. "You cool?"

She scratched her cheek. "Yeah. Yeah. Sorry."

"No more _sorries_ out of you," said Fox. "Instead, why not say thank you? I find it has a more relieving spirit on one's mindset and - "

" _Yusuke_. I get it."

"Of course." He still had Goro's mask in his hands, red cradled in blue. "Now, shall we?

"You too, Joker," he called. "Goro would be very disappointed if you fell behind."

The boy just about jumped at being acknowledged again. "Ye - yeah," he said. "Coming."

Fuck, he just looked like a stupid nervous kid at the moment. Why had Futaba picked a fight with him? I mean, she knew why, but _why?_ And why had she thought Goro would just take it?

(She never called him that in person, did she? But it was an asshole move to call him Akechi when no one else did, not even Ryuji half the time. He wasn't her senpai. He wasn't her big brother. But he was something to her, and she something to him.

A friend. A confidant. An ally. A friend. A friend - )

She slowed her steps so she was the last one out as they went looking for Queen and the others, staring at Joker's back all the while.

He was a friend to Goro, wasn't he?

What did he know about Joker that Futaba didn't?

* * *

"Oh my," said Noir, once they were reacquainted. "I hope Crow's alright. Did you really let him go on his own?"

"Yeah," said Skull, looking pained. "Either that or we were going to eat Shiki-Ouji's blades. And no offense, but I do _not_ want to go out like that."

"Senpai wouldn't have done that," Panther said loyally. "He'd just glare at you and say something mean about your roots or something."

"What's wrong with my roots?"

"Well..."

"Joker," said Queen. "I... I'm sorry for my behaviour earlier. I projected my frustration onto you, and that was unprofessional." She offered a small smile. "It won't happen again."

"It's fine," said Akira. "I was acting like a jackass too."

"You had conviction in what you were saying. Whether that'll guide us well, I don't know, but - " She hesitated. "After all that's happened with the Phantom Thieves, refusing a change of heart isn't entirely unorthodox."

"Yeah," muttered Oracle from behind Fox her guardian shadow. "We did that with my mom. And it worked. She's a lot better now." She pursed her lips. "But you have to _want_ to be better of your own accord, yeah? If you want us to agree with your plan we have to figure out a way to make Queen's sis do that."

"I'm sure we'll think of something," said Fox. "Once we discuss it together as a group."

And that meant with Crow.

"Let's go," said Mona.

* * *

Noir slid into the seat left of him, Fox to the right, the latter sliding Goro's mask back to him. Ah.

"My thanks," he mumbled.

"Not at all." Fox's gaze sparkled. "Well, then. The stage is set. Shall we play?"

"Absolutely." He was drained, but if it meant - he could barely get his card out -

"Let me tap in, Crow," Noir said, hand on his shoulder. "You look like you could take a nap."

"Actually," he informed her in a droll manner. "I look like I could take a nap in a dumpster."

A guilty smile. "So long as you're resting."

"Mmm," said Oracle. "Actually, we thought of a plan. Sort of. Remember the Tanaka card Joker has?"

Goro snorted. "How could I forget? Has the total gone negative now?"

"Nah," said the boy wonder himself. "I snagged a few vases on the way back. I'm back to a thousand."

How delightful. "And."

"We'll use both cards," said Queen. "Split into teams. One will keep playing the dice here now that Oracle's fixed it for us, and the other will check out the slots and do what we can there. It could be... fun?"

It was obvious which team Goro was going to be forced into. "Do I have a choice in this?"

"Eh," said Oracle. "We all voted on it before we got here, so it'll be eight to one if you say no."

" _Don't_ say no though," said Panther. "It'll be a good team-building exercise."

They could certainly use one at the moment. "Go ahead."

"Cool! So it'll be Crow, Noir, Queen, and Mona on the dice team, Joker, Fox, Oracle, Panther, and Skull on slots."

Now that was dumb. Goro turned around to glare at everyone. "So you have a team of five _and_ you're taking my navigator?"

" _Your_ navigator? Buddy, I don't know what to tell you, but _nope_."

"This area's been cleared already." Skull shrugged. "Plus, you have twelve Personas, dude. You can manage without us."

"A friendly competition would be a fine way to regain our spirits," Fox said. "Plus we shall be nearby in case anything goes wrong."

"If you say so." Goro's gaze settled on Joker - not alone, not in the back of the group as he was before, but standing in between Skull and Queen. What a combination. "Very well. We'll come over when we're finished with our session. By then I hope you'll have accomplished something with your time."

"Dude! Are you using fighting words already? Nice!"

"Cheer up, senpai," Panther said. "We'll get through it."

"Yeah." Joker bent his head to adjust his mask. When he was standing straight again, it was with a sly smile. God, but Goro just wanted to kiss it off his cursed face. "Should be fun," he said, and didn't look away once.

* * *

"Cool, cool," said Skull when they were back in the main lobby. "He didn't snap and try to kill us. This plan is already kicking ass."

"No kidding," said Oracle. "Not bad." And proceeded to elbow Akira in the sides.

"Is that supposed to be a sign of camaraderie," he asked, rubbing the offending spot with his palm. Her elbow was _sharp_.

"That's one way to interpret it." She grinned. "Yeah, it is. Thanks, by the way."

"Fox was the one who brought it up."

"I brought up the concept of stress relief in general," said Fox as they made their way to the slots door. "This is a charmed idea. Not one I would have thought of myself. Very good, Joker."

"Aw," said Panther. "You guys are adorable."

"Nuh uh." Oracle wagged a finger at her. "You're adorable, Panther."

"You first!"

"You more!"

"Ladies, you’re _both_ exquisite," Fox broke in, confusion coming over him when they laughed. "I'm serious!"

"We know, dude. That's the best part."

"You could call _me_ exquisite," Skull muttered.

"Of course, Ryuji. You too."

"Hey, hey, don't you Ryuji this and you too that just 'cause I called you out. Say it from the start next time!"

"Ah, we're all morons here," Oracle said with wet eyes as she pushed the doors open to the slots entrance. "Not you though, Joker. You're actually alright!"

"Nah." Akira smiled. "Trust me, I'm an idiot too."

"You hear that, guys? Joker's calling himself an idiot!"

* * *

"Hit me!" Mona yowled in triumph. "Guys, I'm on a winning streak here!"

Noir struggled to keep it together, and even Goro snickered behind his gloved hand as he watched the cat haphazardly yet with hot passion guess his way to rigged victory and the coins rack up.

"You're doing great, Mona," Queen said. "Let's keep going."

"Everybody loves a winner, don't they?" Goro said to the dealer, who smiled back.

"Now, now," said Noir. "Don't tease poor Mona-kun."

"You're just jealous because it's not you, Crow!"

"Believe me, I could not love being a spectator more. This is everything I've ever wanted."

(It was. He didn't have the wits on him at present to even get up and walk around.)

Queen turned her attention over. "Crow," she said in a low voice. "We... should talk about what we want to do with Sis' heart. All of us."

My, my. "So Joker's gotten to you already?"

"Not like that." She shook her head. "We should have a conversation about him too. And... what our ultimate goal is here."

"Fair," he said. It would have come up eventually anyhow.

"And...mI know you're under a lot of pressure right now. My head feels like it's going to split apart, and I don't have half the burdens you do on a regular basis, but - please. Don't keep them to yourself anymore. Let us help you."

"Mmm. We have our methods as well."

"Like...?"

"Whatever you need." Noir smiled. "For instance, I know a very good day spa. Shall we go together next time?"

"Day spa!" He laughed. What would Becky think of that? "What would I even do there?"

"Crow, don't be so foolish." She started putting up fingers. "Facial. Body massage. Manicure. Pedicure. Hair trim. Foot massage. Sauna. And so much more!"

"I'm not sure I'm worthy of such pampering, but I'll think about it."

"Don't be silly. Of _course_ you are."

"And the hits just keep coming! Crow, I'm killing it!"

"Rock and roll, Mona," Goro said, and contemplated falling asleep at the table.

* * *

"Eat dust!" Panther yelled as her whip tore up the Kumbhandas blocking their way into the venue. Oracle scooped up the cash they dropped and shoved it in her pockets.

"We'll have to be careful," said Fox. "We don't have Crow at the moment to cover our weaknesses - "

"But we do have _me_."

" - so let's keep to the corners unless we absolutely must."

"Got it," said Joker.

Ryuji was cautious too, though he gawked when the saw the long rows of sparkling slot machines as they snuck forward. "Whoa," he said, impressed - then reality hit him like a hammer. "They're all probably rigged too, huh."

"Yep. No poking around 'til we know what's really up."

They scoped the front area thoroughly, knocking down Shadows unaware and breaking vases and giant decks of cards for treasure and coins and money with ease. Joker eyed a grey metal door that obviously led into the backrooms, but Fox shook his head. "Not yet. There's another room through that door over there. Come."

That lead into the high-limit area, with a giant slot machine at the end, the words 5000 COINS TO PLAY written on top in tacky gold signage. "We do _not_ have five thousand on us right now," Ryuji said as he dodged the eye of a stacked Playboy bunny at the last second, flipping over the staircase with an ease and grace he didn't have in real life no matter _how_ many stretches and pilate he did to stay fit. "How are we gonna play...?"

"Don't sweat it for now." Oracle scrunched up her nose. "There _has_ to be a terminal around somewhere."

"Yeah! Let's not waste time trying to figure out just how rigged the game is from the start," Panther said. "Er, sorry, Joker."

"My bad," the boy drawled. He gave the giant slot machine one last look, then looked around with an intense gaze and nodded. "Yeah. The terminal's just over here. I can feel it."

"And how?" said Fox as the boy suddenly ran up the stairs and jumped up on the ledge with the signage.

"Here," Joker said, kneeling down with one hand out. "Oracle, you'll want to see this."

"I can jump too, you know," the girl said, but took his hand, and he swung her up as if she was nothing.

"I wanna see," said Ryuji, knowing damn well two was company and three a crowd with the likes of Isshiki "Give Me A Bubble Five Feet Wide Or I Kill You" Futaba or Kurusu "Look At Me, Crow, And Who Are The Rest of You?" Akira. "What's going up there?"

"There's a computer here!" Oracle called out. "Unfortunately I can't rig it like this. There's a whole bunch of other smaller terminals around the area we need to activate first. All I can do for now is flip the switch on so they'll be operational." She jumped down and stumbled, Panther grabbing her before she could land on her face. "Red terminal, green terminal. Easy peasy, right?"

Joker jumped down too... and Ryuji hated to admit it, but the swish of his black coat was _stylin_ '. "Just press a few buttons, over," he said in his low voice. "We'll be done before the others even get over here."

"Mm. If you say so," said Panther. "Let's get started, then."

* * *

Lying on a couch in the lobby of the dice area, Goro stared up at the glittering ceiling, mask resting on his stomach and wondered, "Have you always wanted to be a cop, Makoto?"

Sitting on the bench next to him with her arms lazily crossed and one leg over the other, Queen nodded. "It runs in the family. My grandfather was a prosecutor. My mother was an inspector, and my father a detective. They even met at an office drinking party."

She sounded fond. Goro didn't know what it was like to think of his parents in a happy marriage. As if. "I've never heard you talk about your mother."

Queen looked away. "She died of cancer when I was eight."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I've had time to get over it."

"My mother killed herself when I was five," Goro said.

"Oh." She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry too. That must have been hard."

"It was." His tongue was like chalk. "How _do_ you get over something like that? Because I didn't. Not for a long time. Maybe not even now."

"I don't know." She pressed her lips together. "I had Dad. I had Sis, and our relatives. They took care of us. Made sure we were never alone. Did you ever have someone like that?"

"No," Goro said. "But I have all of you now."

She smiled, wan. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like it, you know? We're always saying you can tell us everything. That you don't need to keep it all to yourself. But you don't. You won't. What are you afraid of?"

"Breaking the Thieves apart," Goro said. "Not being able to keep you as friends if you knew how deranged I truly was."

"Goro, that's not true - "

"It is."

"Okay then." She blinked. "So what?"

"So _what...?_ "

"I mean, we'll work with that, Goro." Queen pinched her nose. "Honestly, do you think I'm the same person I was when we first met? Are any of us? I certainly don't feel as if I'm so judgmental a mistake or two on your part will drive me away forever. I've made mistakes, and you've forgiven me."

"Yes, but you didn't know - "

"You've got to stop putting us on a pedestal," Queen said. "Even if it's one of ignorance. Seriously. It's not going to help anyone if you keep forgiving us for everything and yourself for nothing. We're _all_ a bunch of bumbling teenagers who barely know what we're knowing. Except for Mona."

"No, Mona's the only one with any sense in this team," Goro said, making her laugh.

"I think so too," she said, and their gazes turned to Mona and Noir still in the room with the dealer. "At this point they're just playing for kicks, aren't they?"

"Mm hmm." God, he really did feel like hell. What he needed right now was for Becky to punch him in the back like they did in Korean bathhouses. "How do you think the others are faring?"

"I'm sure Fox is keeping them on track."

That made him chuckle. "He's usually the most distracted one out of everyone."

"Not in a place like this," said Queen. "And not with... him. Are you comfortable with getting so close to Joker?"

He didn't know. "I thought he was the other trickster," Goro said, looking up at the lights again. "But he can't see the Velvet Door. He only has Arsene. And he doesn't seem to know anything about the Metaverse or even what Confidants are."

"It was a shock when you told me," said she. "Imagine, you getting concrete benefits to use in battle just because you get closer with people." She narrowed her eyes. "What have _you_ been getting out of me as of late?"

A lazy grin. "I've already gotten as many bonuses as I can when fusing Personas from the Priestess Arcana. You have nothing to worry about."

"Ha! To think in your eyes I'm a Priestess." Queen snorted. "There's nothing sacred about me, I assure you."

"Could be worse." Goro shrugged. "I still haven't gotten as close to Joker as I could. The cards keep telling me I have more to go."

"The cards...?"

"The fortuneteller, Mifune-san. And the twins, when they're not in the mood to insult me."

"I'd like to meet these mysterious twins of yours sometime. They sound fun."

He glared. "They're abusive, Queen."

"I thought they were children?"

" _Hell_ children."

"Is there a difference?"

"No."

A pause.

"I have a feeling neither of us should raise kids in the future."

"God. Never. I'd die first."

"Me too," she said wryly. "Guess we'll just have to be workaholics instead."

"Or career criminals."

"True." Another pause. "Do you think Sis is capable of changing on her own? Joker talks a good game, but..."

"Some people are," he said. "But everyone...?"

"He makes it sound so easy," she whispered. "Like it's just a big misunderstanding and not an actual conflict of values we have against her. Can we afford to take that kind of gamble when it's our lives on the line?"

He didn't know. "I suppose we could do the same thing we did with Isshiki-san. Bring her into the Metaverse and watch her get disgusted with her other self and change out of spite."

"Could you _imagine_."

"Or," said the soft tone of an approaching Noir. "We could bring Isshiki-san to her."

"We're done," said Mona, holding the Nakanomatsu card proudly in his paws.

"What do you mean by that...?" Queen said, but Goro just pursed his lips.

"Hasn't Nijima-san already interrogated her? What good would it do now?"

Noir shook her head. "We don't know what they said to each other, really. And wasn't that before you met Ohya-san? We could offer Nijima-san an alternative to her pursuing us. A case even bigger than bringing down the Phantom Thieves."

"That's... not exactly a change of heart you're offering there, Noir," Mona said. "Instead, we'd just be switching her dirty tactics to a new target."

"Yes," said Goro, contemplating the idea. "But this time it would be be one who truly deserved it."

* * *

"Let there be light!" crowed Oracle, and it was done.

"Superb," said Yusuke. "Now all we need is - "

"Five thousand coins, yeah," Joker sighed. "There wasn't enough vases in the backroom, unfortunately. I'm out of it."

"Hey, you found both the terminals for us with your super eye," said Panther. "That wasn't nothing!"

"With my _third_ eye," the boy said, and winked.

"Nah, it's cool," said Skull. "They're coming, see? Yo, Crow! Queen, Mona! Noir!"

The remaining Thieves wandered over, Noir giving a gentle wave as she came. "Hello! Did you accomplish everything on your end?"

"Not quite," Yusuke said. "Alas, we don't have enough to pay to play."

"That's a pity," Crow drawled in a soft voice. The consequence of his brief moment of tears - weakness, he would have called it - had left his voice quick to rasp. "We'll take over, then."

"Nuh uh! Separate teams, remember!" Oracle shook her finger at him.

"Oh? And I thought this was a team _building_ exercise?"

"Yeah. Building _one_ team, _destroying_ the other."

"Well, we do have the coins," Queen said. "And you don't. So why not put it aside for now? I'm sure there'll be ridiculous things to do on the high limit floor when it's open to us."

"Yes," said Yusuke. "You could lend us some coins after the win so our totals are even. Then we could try again on a better matched field later on."

Crow frowned. "You're actually serious about this competition? _You_ , Fox?"

"Of course. What greater pleasure is there?"

"Fresh uni," Mona said. "Duh."

"A perfect manicure," Noir said with a smile.

"A flawless college entrance exam," said Queen. "And afterward, an ice cream sundae with chocolate syrup to celebrate."

"Ooh! I know," said Panther. "A purse from Céline."

"Yakitori and a cold one," said Skull. "Uh, don't tell my mom I just said that?"

"A backup generator for my air conditioner," said Oracle. "And the limited collector's edition of Featherman Z with everything included. Artbook AND feelies!"

Joker had been eyeing everyone during their moment. Now he added, "A fresh steaming cup of Leblanc's Honduran SHG and a plate of Fire Curry at the end of a long working day."

"You," Yusuke. "Are terrible. All of you."

What was his greatest personal pleasure? Of course, it was opening up a new set of paints, gazing down at them before the brush dipped into them for the first time. It was if he was imprinting on them, mother bird to chick to chick to chick...

Crow stepped up to the slot machine. "I'll leave you all to guess what I'm thinking of," he said in a dry tone, and began to play.

"I know," said Oracle. "You're all about huffing markers, aren't you?"

"Oracle, I swear - "

"Hah! So it's true!"

"Nah, senpai loves sweet stuff! Every time we go out we're trying some new cafe and taking super cute photos of our food."

"What! I wanna see! Why the hell don't phones work in the Metaverse?"

"I'll show you when we're out."

"Aw, hell yeah!"

"Shh," said Queen absently as she stared up at the golden 7s starting to align. "Let's hope this works..."

"It will," said Noir.

"Ja - ja - jackpot!" said Mona, eyes turning round when 777 hit and small gold coins tumbled out of the machine like in some wild American heist film. "Come on, guys! Grab 'em while you can!"

"It's already on our card, Mona," Crow said, a touch of pink on his face as he turned round. "No, seriously, stop picking them up."

Yusuke took some from the floor out of habit, stared at the glittering metal pieces in his hands. He knew they weren't real, that if he took them out of the Metaverse they'd likely poof into plastic or powder or nothing - but it was tempting nonetheless.

Even now, Goro gave him money so he didn't have to choose between his necessities and his schooling where his bursary was concerned. Yusuke was grateful - he certainly hadn't gone digging around public parks for mushrooms because he enjoyed it (though it had deepened his knowledge of gastronomy and the local ecosystem) nor taking the pedestrian's route around town when a train journey would have taken one-fourth the time because he lacked for fitness. It had been for survival's sake alone.

He was eating well now, and there was food in his fridge beyond a few paltry vegetables past expiry date. No fare even at Sensei's home could ever compare. But then, he had been forced to scrimp there too.

Much as he wished otherwise, they wouldn't be Phantom Thieves forever, an influx of money keep falling into their lives via the death of Shadows and Goro's flowing wallet. Even Kitagawa Yusuke, lover of dreams, had to consider the future.

As he let the coins fall from his hands back onto the pile where Mona was presently rolling around in like hay, his gaze fell to Crow, the red flush on his face almost a part of him as his mask now, then at Joker, who was watching Mona with a small grin.

What future existed for the Phantom Thieves with Joker in it?

Did the question even matter if they couldn't keep it together for the next fortnight?

What of Nijima Sae, and the dilemma over her change of heart?

What of Goro, and the showdown he seemed destined to have against his father?

What of him?

 _You think too much_ , Kamu Susano-o murmured, and Yusuke chuckled.

_Whenever do I not?_

_Very well. I suppose it is your strength, after all._

_Not my talent as an artist? How odd._

_Dear child, any small fool can pick up a brush and paint,_ said the aged being, which was the most absurd thing he had ever heard of. _But very few are curious enough to wonder what lies beyond the canvas and in people's hearts._

_Am I only the latter to you, then?_

_You are both, dear child,_ whispered Susano-o, _you are both._

* * *

"Congratulations, sir," said the Shadow at the counter. "Your high limit card."

Goro pocketed it. "Thank you."

"Huh. There's only one," said Oracle. "Is our competition over already? That blows."

"We'll think of something," Joker said, to which Queen wrinkled her nose:

" _Will_ we?"

"I just vote we go home and take a nap for a couple of days," said Skull. "The culture festival's coming up soon, and if I keep cancelling on helping out I'm pretty sure the class prez is going to beat my ass. My grades are already in the shitter as it is too."

"We _are_ on a deadline," said Fox. "But some time off would be welcome. Sloppiness could be catastrophic in battle."

"I just wanna veg out if that's cool," said Oracle. "Not that I care... if it's not."

"Mishima-kun's transferring to a new school soon," said Panther. "We should throw him a goodbye party."

"I haven't been to cram school in ages," Queen said. "College entrance exams are in January and..."

"And you haven't taken me to a restaurant in weeks!" said Mona. "I'm going to get stir crazy if this keeps up - "

"I get it," said Goro. "There's no need to gang up on melike this when you're all of one mindset." He crinkled his eyes. "I'm sure you have somewhere else to be too, Joker."

"Me?" The boy shrugged. "I'm good with anything, really. Anytime, any place."

If he said so. "Let's go home, then," Goro said.

* * *

That night at Leblanc after closing, Boss slid a plate of hot curry across the counter and said, "You're not up in anything strange again, are you?"

"We were just in Mementos," Goro said, the lie wet on his tongue like a fresh sprinkling of rain. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," the man said with a scowl. "Apart from that ugly bruise on the side of your jaw. You sure you got _that_ from Mementos?"

Morgana must have missed a spot. True to form, the cat said, "Boss, where's _my_ plate?"

"Coming! Coming! Jeez, hearing you talk still gives me the creeps."

"Well, get used to it, because I'm never going to stop!"

* * *

"Is it alright, me staying here again?" said Makoto as they entered the foyer of the penthouse apartment atop Okumura Tower. "I know your housekeeper doesn't mind, but it's still your home, and - "

Haru pressed a finger to her mouth and shook her head. "Not another word out of you, young lady," she said. "Makoto, you're my friend. And _your_ home right now isn't a place where you want to be. Is it?"

She tightened her fists. "I'm a coward. I should be trying to convince Sis of our justice. Instead I'm burying my head in the sand and pretending the problem doesn't exist. Like I always do."

"You're doing your best already. Besides, it's Kurusu-kun's idea. _He_ should be doing the legwork."

"I don't even know how that would work out. I don't think Goro would let him, in any case - "

"Makoto," said Haru, and took her hands in her own for the second time that day. "Please. Let's not talk about boys anymore."

"Okay." Her mouth was dry. "What do you want to talk about, then?"

" _Anything_." The girl's hazel eyes glittered. "Anything but work. Promise?"

"Ye - yes. I promise," she said, and let Haru guide her inside.

* * *

Lunch tasted more bitter than usual today. White rice, spinach tamagoyaki, cherry tomatoes, steamed broccoli and fried chicken with tartar sauce - her old favourites. Hifumi had always lied in her profiles; it fit her image more to nibble on wagashi and cold soba, drink green tea from morning to night. Fried chicken couldn't pass her lips - what if it went straight to her hips?

Now there was no more image to maintain, and she spent yet another lunch hour alone in the Japanese garden at school, playing shogi against herself and half-heartedly eating her bento in silence.

It had been like this for as long as she could remember. There was nothing to be upset for. Only now her fellow students knew what her mother had done, and avoided her even more than usual. Even finding a partner for after school cleaning duty had become impossible.

_You chose this. You let the world know the truth._

_Now everyone knows you as you are._ ~~A~~ ~~fraud~~.

She ought to be happy she was no longer living a lie.

(She was, mostly. Mother was kind now. Had found a different job, and didn't bring up shogi anymore unless Hifumi mentioned it first - )

But the rest of it? Oh, she could cry. She really could.

Hush. What would Goro-kun say about this? The senior from Shujin had been her rock during these trying times, but he had his own life, and contacting him just because she found it difficult to move on from her idol days was unbecoming. He had already told her what she needed to hear. Now she needed to live it -

"I beg pardon, but may I sit here?"

She blinked out of her thoughts and looked up in shock. "Huh? Kitagawa-kun?"

"The very same." He smiled, casting a shadow over the board, and her. "Perhaps I am being impertinent, but you looked in need of a partner. May I?"

He was offering. Oh. "I - I suppose," Hifumi said, startled. "But you must know, Kitagawa-kun, associating with me won't bring you any popularity or success, not as it once did. There are better shogi players elsewhere, and - "

" _My_ ," said he. "Is that all that matters nowadays?"

"I..." She wet her lips. "I'm not sure."

"I do know how to play," he said, taking the seat across her. "So please don't be afraid I'll slow you down."

"I'm hardly a master for you to say something like that," she said. "Besides, who did you learn it from?"

"Ah." He gazed down at the wooden pieces with fondness. "A mutual acquaintance, Togo-san, and someone who knows your style of play very well." He looked back at her and smiled. "Now. Shall we?"

* * *

"Holy shit!" Ryuji yelled as he dodged the ball coming right for him. "Shiho, do you have it out for me or something?! Take it easy!"

"Yeah, take it easy on the poor guy!" called out Ann from the sidelines. "He's just a newbie, after all!"

Hair clung to her girlfriend's face like extertion and sweat, and power. "Sorry," she said with a grin, blatantly not sorry. "I'll do it more gently next time."

"Yeah, yeah, next time, she says," Ryuji said under his breath. "I've heard that before."

* * *

"Now turn the heat down to low, and simmer for at least an hour - "

" _Sojiro_ ," Futaba said, glaring with a ladle in hand. "I know how to make curry. Step off."

The man grinned. "Really? And where did you get that from?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mom entered the kitchen. "The table's set. Where's Morgana?"

"He likes to walk around the neighbourhood at evening." Futaba put the ladle down. "Says it's calming. Don't get it."

" _Your_ idea of calming has always been a marathon gaming session. Though it appears to have the opposite effect. Someone your age really shouldn't be saying half the words you do when you get upset."

"Wow, Mom! Calling me out in front of Sojiro over here. Kinda embarrassing."

"I'll show you embarrassing, Futaba," said Mom, and leaned over to ruffle her hair.

* * *

In her office, Nijima Sae sat in her chair and stared at her computer and wondered what it was she should do.

* * *

"Hey, the rampage incidents seemed to have died down recently, huh?"

"I'm not even sure they're a real thing..."

"Still! Are you telling me a bunch of people went berserk out of _nowhere_ and it's not all connected somehow? Come on!"

"But I don't get it. How could someone even _do_ that to so many people?"

"I don't know, maybe they used a kind of drug. Or they were blackmailing the victim, and the stress got too much so they snapped and went crazy."

"At least no one's died yet..."

"Do we know that for sure? There's at least one guy in a coma because his boss went nuts and hit him on the head. What if he never wakes up?"

"Oh my God, stop. You're scaring me now. What if we're next?"

"No way! Whoever this guy goes after, he only targets people who've done terrible things already. You haven't done anything bad, have you?"

"No, of course not. I'm just worried. What does this person even want from people?"

"Who said he wants anything? Maybe he's just one of those weirdos who likes to do it for fun. If he wanted money or fame he'd have sent out a calling card first or whatever the Phantom Thieves do."

"But some people seem to think the Thieves are the ones secretly making people rampage to prove society needs them - "

"No way! They've never hurt anyone. Besides, they're all about uprooting injustice in society. Why would they make people rampage when they already know what they're doing with their change of hearts?"

"I don't know. But it feels like they're related somehow. The Thieves, and... this."

"Ha! So you do believe me now."

"I'm just saying. It's too much of a coincidence otherwise."

"Sure, sure. I bet the Thieves will call this guy out next. I'd love to see them go face to face!"

"What if they get hurt though? Or worse? I don't want to find out on the news the Phantom Thieves went berserk."

"That would never happen. The Thieves are way stronger than this guy or _whoever_ the hell he is."

"But they've been so quiet in the past couple of months. Why haven't they gone after him already?"

"Who knows. Maybe they're doing it right now and we just don't know about it. We only find out who their targets were after they've already changed their hearts. It could be the same here."

"If you say so. Gosh, I really hope the Thieves find out who this guy is and bring him to justice."

"You know they will."

* * *

"Goro. You're looking good today."

"Oh, this?" He smiled. "Ann and Haru helped me pick it out. What do you think?" He held out his hands. "Do I look like a normal teenager now?"

"Well..." His date eyed him thoughtfully. Instead of Goro's usual tragedy of a wardrobe (quoth Futaba), he was wearing a red t-shirt with a casual beige blazer, black pants, and dark blue and grey sneakers. That, combined with his hair up in a ponytail and a dusting of foundation to cover up the less photogenic freckles on his face ("Nonsense, Goro. Your freckles are your charm point!" said Haru, but regretfully let him buy the tube in his shade nonetheless.), made him look... dare he say it? Fashionable?

Akira was struggling not to laugh. "Um," he said. "Yes, you do. You look very cute, actually. How long did you spend on this outfit, by the way?"

"Never mind. This was a horrible idea. I'm not dating material." Goro turned, only to feel a tug on his blazer.

" _Easy_ ," said Akira. "That was really nice of you. Thanks. Oh, and you're totally dating material."

"... I guess you don't look entirely horrible either."

"Uh huh," said the boy, gorgeous as usual in a white tee, neat blue jeans and a thin black jacket. "Now that we've gotten the niceties out of the way, can we jet? The movie's starting in fifteen."

"Sure." They fell into step as they left the station.

Slyly, Akira began, "You know, people who are dating usually hold hands or things like that."

"In Japan? Forget it." It came out of him without even thinking. "Also, on the first date? You're very vulgar, Kurusu-san."

"And you're just a blushing maiden born to appeal to my ego, Akechi-senpai. Come on, why not take the plunge?" His voice dropped. "After all, we've even shed blood together. What's a little skin-to-skin after that? We won't even be touching wrists."

"I'm sorry," Goro said. "I have to turn you into the police now. For sex crimes."

"For sex crimes! I am the most innocent person alive. Also, I'm still seventeen, you dirty perv - "

Goro grabbed his hand because they were in public, and it seemed the best way to shut him up. Akira did, too, if only for a moment.

"You flirt. You were leading _up_ to that,  weren't you?"

He rolled his eyes. "You have no idea how lucky you are I've gotten better at this over the months. When I first came to Shujin I couldn't even bear Ryuji touching me on the arm, and he didn't mean anything by it."

"He's almost broken my back a couple of times trying to slap me on the shoulder," said Akira. "Don't worry, though. Because I _definitely_ do mean something by this."

"I know you do, Akira," said Goro, and despite himself, smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... hm. Do you ever look at your own work and realize the original point might have slipped away from you? Because this chapter now that I've edited it looks... odd. I think I may have fallen into the trap of trying to recapture the 70+ hour game's atmosphere and... everythingness in the confines of a single, ostensibly coherent fic... which is NOT things work if you want to make your fic Good and not take eight hundred hours to get through. Aargh. There's no need for chapters to be this long, dummy!
> 
> Yeah, so how the whole Akira-Makoto-Goro convo goes down made a lot more sense when I wrote it... less so, now. Idk? I want to keep making lame excuses but this chapter is probably my least fave right now. I do plan to eventually re-edit and lightly revise Second Chances when it's over, since I definitely don't have the patience/energy to do it now..... (and also never write a fic over 100k again).
> 
> Umm... next time? We can probably wrap up the casino in one chapter TBH. And then, the Destinyland trip that was supposed to happen last chapter? Akira and Goro kiss maybe? Oh God, this author is clueless... sorry... AT LEAST THE GROUP SCENES ARE CUTE RIGHT????
> 
> PS so many kudos and comments... thank you!! ;.;


	21. Steal Nijima's heart III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alienation, thy name is Goro Akechi.

**21\. Steal Nijima’s heart III**

**Futaba:** Well, I don't know about anyone else, but you-know-who is clean.  
**Yusuke** : And what do you mean by that...?  
**Futaba** : There's nothing shady on his phone.  
**Futaba** : Kinda weird, actually.  
**Futaba** : I went through his phone logs, browser history, messages, EVERYTHING.  
**Futaba** : Fun fact: 50% of his calls went to Makoto's sis, 40% to a bunch of take-out places, and 10% to his school.  
**Futaba** : His search history is the most mundane thing ever too.  
**Futaba** : Stuff like how to wash your sheets and clean the fridge and good ideas for a first date.  
**Goro** : I see.  
**Futaba** : Yeah, you do.  
**Futaba** : Do I even need to say who's the one answering all his texts?  
**Goro** : No.  
**Ann:** Yes!  
**Goro** : Ann, please. This isn't funny.  
**Makoto** : It's not.  
**Goro** : Thank you.  
**Makoto** : I mean you as well.  
**Makoto** : There's getting close to a target for information, and then there's this.  
**Makoto** : I want to tell you to be careful, but...  
**Yusuke** : What if he's not the one?  
**Yusuke** : Have we made a fatal error in presuming him the Warden?  
**Ryuji** : Who else could it be though?  
**Ryuji** : There's no one else we know who can go into the Metaverse.  
**Ann** : Kurusu-kun seems really nice though.  
**Ann** : I know everyone wears masks.  
**Ann** : And Goro, I'm sure you've seen a side of him none of us have yet.  
**Ann** : But I can't imagine how someone like Akira could be the Warden, considering his beliefs.  
**Ann** : He's the Third Eye AND a Phantom Thief now.  
**Ann** : The Warden drives people berserk... for what? What's his goal?  
**Ann** : Why does he do what he does?  
**Ann** : Does anyone know?  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Makoto is typing...**  
**Yusuke is typing...**  
**Ryuji:** Maybe he doesn't have one.  
**Ryuji** : Maybe he's just doing it because he can, and no one's there to stop him.  
**Ann** : That's so dark, then.  
**Ann** : He's hurting innocent people... just because?  
**Goro** : That's not strictly true.  
**Goro** : If you look up the known victims of the rampage incidents, they tend to be more on the side of the targets we pursue in Palaces and Mementos.  
**Ryuji** : You mean some of them are Palace-level heinous?  
**Goro** : Yes.  
**Goro** : There was this one incident a while back I saw on TV regarding a music executive, Asakura Shiro.  
**Goro** : He sexually harassed female employees and forced women to sleep with him if they wanted to be signed to his label.  
**Goro** : Knowing how young idols usually are, most likely some of his victims were underaged.  
**Ann** : Oh my God.  
**Ryuji** : WTF!  
**Futaba** : I remember this too.  
**Futaba** : And then after he went berserk and got taken into custody, a whole bunch of allegations about him came out, right...?  
**Goro** : Yes. His lawyer pled a sudden mental lapse on his behalf, but I don't believe it stuck.  
**Goro** : Just because the public are convinced the rampage incidents are real doesn't mean it's caught up to the judicial system yet.  
**Goro** : I'm not sure if his trial's begun yet, but I doubt Asakura is going to walk free any time soon.  
**Haru** : How awful if he gets away with what he's done.  
**Ryuji** : I hate to say it but... doesn't it sound like the Warden's doing a good thing then?  
**Ryuji** : If he was able to expose this creep for what he is, then...  
**Makoto** : I wouldn't go so far. We don't know his motivations after all.  
**Futaba** : Yeah. Plus you're forgetting that a rampage victim doesn't just turn themselves in.  
**Futaba** : When Asakusa went berserk he attacked a whole bunch of people and sent them to the hospital.  
**Futaba** : He could have killed someone.  
**Futaba** : He only got arrested because he was at a host club at a time, and the owner called the police.  
**Makoto** : You're right.  
**Makoto** : What if Asakusa had attacked someone who couldn't call for help?  
**Makoto** : That no one died during this crime is an accident alone.  
**Yusuke** : Horrendous.  
**Yusuke** : This Warden truly seems to serve as the antithesis to our thesis.  
**Yusuke** : The Phantom Thieves change the hearts of the criminally minded to remove the distortion in their hearts and get them to admit their crimes to the proper authorities.  
**Makoto** : Whereas the Warden drives them mad in some strange attempt to get other people to stop the target for him?  
**Goro** : I'm not sure it's that.  
**Makoto** : ?  
**Goro** : If we assume the Warden is operating on a twisted justice of his own - and based on the fact that his victims have uniformly been notorious in their own right, then...  
**Goro** : It's possible he believes that by forcing them to rampage, it'll be impossible for people to look the other way anymore.  
**Goro** : The rampage incident could be the log that breaks the dam in terms of getting the targets' own victims to come forward with allegations, knowing they have a chance to be heard.  
**Ryuji** : Wow...  
**Ryuji** : So you think this guy's trying to put a shine on his targets' wrongdoings?  
**Goro** : Yes. But please don't misunderstand.  
**Goro** : I'm not supporting what he does. We're only speculating on his motives, after all.  
**Makoto** : And even if he means well, he drives his victims insane and forces them to become violent against innocent bystanders.  
**Makoto** : I'd rather die before letting that happen to me.  
**Haru** : Makoto...  
**Yusuke** : She's right.  
**Yusuke** : The Warden robs his targets of their agency and capacity to think and feel.  
**Yusuke** : Even if they're immoral themselves, anyone who chooses that path and calls it justice is a disturbed individual.  
**Yusuke** : And yet...  
**Ann** : I know what you're thinking, Yusuke.  
**Ann** : Aren't we doing the same thing?  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Makoto is typing...**  
**Futaba is typing...**  
**Ryuji is typing...**  
**Yusuke is typing...**  
**Haru:** We're not.  
**Haru** : There's a difference between making someone do a good deed and a cruel one.  
**Haru** : I believe we're on the side of the angels on this one.  
**Ann** : Yeah, but...  
**Yusuke** : Either way, isn't the "making" someone do something the issue at hand?  
**Goro** : Let's not obfuscate words. We force change of hearts upon people. That's all.  
**Haru** : Isn't it worth it, if our targets become better people after we've changed their hearts?  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Makoto:** Have we as a group ever been concerned with what happens to our targets afterward, though?  
**Makoto** : We went after them because we wanted to hold them accountable for their crimes. Crimes the police couldn't or refused to go after themselves.  
**Makoto** : Personally it doesn't matter if Kaneshiro reformed as the Buddha after his change of heart. After all he's done to people, I'd never be able to look at his face again without wanting to spit at it.  
**Futaba** : OMG  
**Makoto** : I know. Yet, don't I have the right to feel that way?  
**Ryuji** : YES  
**Ann** : We all do. But...  
**Ann** : I don't know why but it doesn't sit right with me.  
**Yusuke** : Well, Kaneshiro is dead now.  
**Yusuke** : Madarame as well.  
**Yusuke** : We'll never know how they would have turned out in the end. Shido took it from us.  
**Futaba** : Trust me, I'm still sleeping like a baby at night.  
**Yusuke** : So you never wonder what could have been?  
**Futaba** : Aw jeez.  
**Futaba** : I'm not sentimental like you, Inari.   
**Futaba** : To be honest I don't want to think about it because it makes me uncomfortable.  
**Futaba** : Why SHOULD people like them get a second chance? The change of hearts are for their victims. Not them.  
**Futaba** : And no, that doesn't make us like the Warden. We're not hurting anyone.  
**Yusuke is typing...**  
**Haru:** I understand everyone's uncertainties.  
**Haru** : We're playing with fire at the moment, with Nijima-san's Palace, and Kurusu-kun as well.  
**Haru** : But if the Phantom Thieves had never existed, where would all of us be today?  
**Futaba** : I KNOW  
**Haru** : We're trying to do what's right with the tools we have.  
**Haru** : And we have made a positive impact upon the world.  
**Haru** : I believe that's worth celebrating.  
**Haru** : Not that I mean to step on anyone's toes.  
**Haru** : I don't want to disregard anyone's feelings. I just feel it's healthier if we weigh in the good we've done as well.  
**Haru** : We're thieves who fight for justice. Nothing less.  
**Yusuke** : Yes, certainly.  
**Yusuke** : I suppose it isn't wise to spiral too much into self-doubt at a juncture like this.  
**Haru** : :)  
**Makoto** : We're all entitled to our own thoughts, even if we act as a team.  
**Makoto** : And in the end, it's probably a lot healthier if we argue it out before things build up too much and something breaks.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** You're right.  
**Goro** : I'll keep that in mind myself.  
**Haru** : You can do it, Goro! We're here for you!  
**Haru** : :)!!!  
**Ann** : ♥  
**Haru** : ♥♥  
**Yusuke** : ♥♥♥...?  
**Futaba** : sTOP

* * *

"This is going to be an absolute nightmare," Futaba said under her breath as she unlocked the door to her apartment. "Okay. Here we go." She stepped onto the genkan, and Goro followed. "Mom, I'm home! And I, uh, brought Goro!"

"That's fine," called back Isshiki-san. "I bought some matcha cake today. Both of you try some. Make some tea as well."

"Oh, yesss." Futaba fistpumped the air. Goro took off his shoes and put away his school bag and blazer. Anything to delay the coming storm.

Futaba was already rummaging in the kitchen and bringing out a white box from the fridge when he entered the living room. Isshiki-san emerged from her bedroom and smiled. "It's been a while, Akechi."

"Yes, ma'am." If there was a hint of nervousness in his voice, it was drowned out by the clank of Futaba setting down small plates and forks on the counter, looking through a drawer for the appropriate knife. "I hope life hasn't been too dull since your leave of absence from work?"

Unexpectedly, a laugh. "I suppose a high schooler might think that," Isshiki-san said, taking a seat on the sofa. She gestured at Goro, and he sat down. "But no - just because I'm not in my office doesn't mean I've been idle. Quite a few journals are coming out soon with my research published in them, and I've been in contact with dozens of fellow scientists and journalists trying to get my opinion or counter theirs. It's been exhausting."

"Come to Leblanc, then." Goro smoothed his hands over his knees, Futaba humming as she came over with three plates balanced on her thin arms and put them down on the table. "I have some Salvadoran Pacamara with your name on it."

"You've certainly evolved in your tastes since you came to Tokyo, haven't you?" said Isshiki-san the same time Futaba muttered:

"He's as bad as Sojiro now," and stuffed a bite of creamy, powdery matcha cake into her mouth.

"Bo - Sakura-san's taught me a lot," Goro said, taking his own small bite. Oh, this was nice. Not too sweet, not too bitter... a chestnut filling in between the layers... perhaps he ought to open a bakery someday. Hmm. "I never had the opportunity to appreciate coffee before my stay with him."

"He's converted you," Isshiki-san said dryly.

Goro smiled. "I think so, yes."

"Don't believe his lies," said Futaba, sprawling out on the other side of the couch Goro sat on, her feet just barely grazing his thighs. The plate rested on her stomach. Well, why not. "Whenever Sojiro's not around Goro's guzzling nothing but frappuccinos and those weird vending machine drinks that give you diabetes."

"And you don't do the same, Futaba?"

Goro snickered.

"I," said Futaba, glasses sliding down her nose, "don't _guzzle_."

"No one here is capable of guzzling _anything_ ," said Isshiki-san. "Now I'm glad you dropped by, Akechi, but let's be honest: you're not exactly known for house trips, nor do you hunch in on yourself when you're having a good time. So what are you and Futaba conspiring right now?" She narrowed her eyes. "Tell me it's legal."

"Define... legal," said Futaba.

"As in, you are _not_ getting into trouble with the law."

"Mom, tons of people get into trouble with the law even when they did nothing wrong. But, yes... um, what we're doing... is not _technically_ illegal?"

"Isn't the more relevant question about doing no evil?" Goro said. "Rather than focus on the letter of the law - "

"Wow," Futaba said. "You have _changed_. Old Akechi would have totally freaked out about what you said just now."

"Old Akechi," Goro said, "was an intolerable bore. Now, Isshiki-san. We do require your help at the moment regarding a volatile situation we - the Phantom Thieves - are involved in."

"A volatile situation," said Isshiki-san, switching gazes to and fro. "Involving you. The Phantom Thieves. And Futaba. Akechi, I - "

"Mom, we'll tell you everything," Futaba interrupted. "Just... don't get mad until it's over, okay? Because it's a long story."

"And judging by the way you two just tried to distract me, I doubt I'll be hearing anything good," said Isshiki-san, crossing her arms. "Akechi, you're aware that everything you tell me will go right back to Sojiro? I've kept your secret from the world and I'll continue to do so, but I won't carry water for you against your guardian and my own friend."

Goro pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Yes, ma'am. I've always known that."

"I just hope all he does is ground you when this is over," Isshiki-san said. "Very well. Begin."

"Okay," said Futaba. "So you remember how we all got interrogated a while back? And you thought Nijima the prosecutor just let it go and stopped questioning us? Well, not exactly. What we ended up doing was..."

* * *

All Goro could do was try not to look at the door when the explanation was over, because Isshiki-san was staring daggers at him, and he didn't know how to excuse himself without admitting cowardice or leaving Futaba to her very disappointed and very angry mother.

Oops. Right?

"So," Isshiki-san said, grit in her voice, manicured nails sunk into her arms. "Nijima Sae is convinced of your identities as the Phantom Thieves, not in the least because you confessed it to her."

"I lost my temper that day. I'm sorry."

"You should be." Futaba winced. "Akechi, I understand why you're leery of adult interference, with your background. But what did you think would happen? Why did you think going behind my back - Sojiro's back - and trying to negotiate with a shady prosecutor for your freedom was something you thought you _had_ to do yourself?"

His mouth was dry. "Well... Makoto helped."

"And you roped in that boy detective into your nonsense and you went into Nijima's Palace of all things with him! My God."

"Well, of course it sounds stupid when you put it like that," Futaba said, wilting when her mother's stare switched focus. "Sorry. We were dumb. And scared. Mostly the latter."

"Before I say _anything_ regarding your absurd plan with Nijima and that tabloid journalist," Isshiki-san said. "Why? Why didn't you come to us for help in the beginning?"

It was shameful, but Goro was stupefied. His mind went blank. His fingers, laced together in his lap, belonged to someone else. Futaba, too, looked as if she had gone cross-eyed.

"I," he began with the intellect of a five-year-old, "thought you wouldn't let us be the Phantom Thieves any longer if you found out."

Futaba nodded furiously. "Yeah, yeah!"

"What made you think _that_ was your greatest priority?" said Isshiki-san in a voice as cold as ice. "You're not superheroes, and Akechi, _you're_ not a child anymore. You're going into college next year if any damned school will accept you when they find out who you are - "

"What do you mean when!" Futaba cried out. "We are _not_ going public with our identities!"

"No," said Isshiki-san, and got up, and walked away to stare out the window. Goro and Futaba looked at each other as if hapless frogs. Silence was golden until Isshiki-san's back no longer bore the posture of Goliath.

"You realize," the woman said finally, "I have no incentive to help you."

" _Mom_."

"If." She turned around and held up a hand. "If Futaba wasn't involved. If you weren't Sojiro's, Akechi, and if the rest of your group weren't a pack of lost teenagers with clearly no proper adult influence in their lives."

"You're shitting on yourself there too," Futaba whispered in a voice so small only Goro picked it up.

" _And_ ," said Isshiki Wakaba, "if I didn't already find Nijima Sae insufferable for interrogating me and my daughter as if we were criminals. And if I still didn't want to drag Shido Masayoshi down to hell for sabotaging my work all these years and then trying to have me kidnapped, that rat-faced _bastard_."

"Yes, ma'am," Goro said.

"Before we - as in all of us, including you - proceed any further on this disaster your lot has called a self-rescue mission," said Isshiki-san, "we are going to talk everything over with Sojiro."

"The deadline's in like a week," Futaba said. "We still - can't we go to her Palace, at least?"

"You cannot."

"We have to," Goro said, his tongue as thick as mud. "We have to cover our bases."

Isshiki-san eyed him coldly. "And then what? If you plan to change her heart, then why this charade of speaking to her in person? Why bother?" Underneath her words: why not do to her what you once threatened to do to me?

"Because..."

"Because Kurusu doesn't want us to," Futaba said. "He likes her, weird as it sounds. She... watched out for him when he first started out as the Third Eye, and..." She shrunk under her mother's glower, but went on: "It's... a little like you and me, you know. Even when I was angry at you, I still wanted us to get close. At first I thought it was only possible through a change of heart, but then I realized I wanted our relationship to get better fair and square. Not by cheating."

A change of heart wasn't cheating, Goro thought, then bit the inside of his mouth. _Don't be ridiculous. Of course it is. It's practically brainwashing._

_So what? You do what you can with the tools you have. Nothing more, nothing less._

"I'm sorry for deceiving you, Isshiki-san," he said.

"Me too," Futaba said. "Sorry."

"Neither of you feel guilty for your actions, so you can stop pretending right now." Isshiki-san sighed. "You're going into her Palace whether I like it or not. And if I banned you from going, Futaba, you'd probably just drain all my bank accounts until I changed my mind."

"I... wouldn't do that, Mom," Futaba said. "I'd just run away and live at Sojiro's again."

"Of course." A snort. "One last thing, Akechi."

"Yes, ma'am." Goro bowed his head. It was like being scolded by Sensei all over again, only even in his worst moments as a boy her rebukes had never felt as if they might drive him out of the mortal coil. "What can I do for you?"

"After Nijima. You really intend to go after Shido?"

He licked his lips, as they had gone dry and chapped. "Yes, ma'am. The election is in just under two months."

"If not now," said Futaba. "Then never."

"You can't even _vote_ ," Isshiki-san said, frustrated. "And yet - "

"We'll be affected by his policies nonetheless," said Goro.

"I'm sure he's already affected you." Her words rendered him speechless. "Someday you'll tell me why you bear such a grudge against him. He left you and your mother. What else did he do?"

" _Mom_."

"I... I'd really rather not." The back of his neck felt damp. "It's personal."

"When it comes to you, Akechi," Isshiki-san said, "everything is personal."

* * *

"Akira-kun," Chihaya said as he sat down in the rickety folding chair she used for customers. "It's been a while. What can I do for you?"

He gave her his trademark Third Eye grin, to which she responded with a sanguine smile of her own. "I haven't seen my fortune in months. How about that?"

"Again, though?" She began shuffling her cards. "You never ask for anything else. How about a luck or an affinity reading? You used to ask for the money reading quite a bit - "

"I don't need any more money."

His voice came out flat, and Chihaya's eyes widened in surprise. "My apologies. You are the customer, after all."

 _Jackass_. "Sorry. It's just... I don't really need those other features, you know?"

She smiled wanly. "You're different from Akechi-kun, then."

Oh, right. "Does he come by often?"

"Not as much anymore." She began spreading the cards face-down on the table. "But whenever he does he always asks for affinity or luck readings. He seems intent on doing the best in his studies... and in his friendships, too. It's admirable." She pressed her lips together. "Sometimes there's just not enough time in the world, and despite your best efforts you still need an extra... push from something else to get everything done."

"Or someone," Akira said, and Chihaya pinked.

Her good mood didn't last. "Three of Swords." She flipped another. "Ten of Swords." Another. "The Devil."

He grimaced, knowing damn well what each card meant. "Why not just strike me down right now? With this kind of omen I might as well get hit by a car the minute I get out of here."

"Akira-kun. The cards are there only to guide you in the right direction. Your fate isn't set in stone, no matter how dire it seems in the present."

_Well, if this isn't a surprise, coming from her of all people._

_Shut up._

"You've changed. When we first met, it'd seem like you'd give up and not even go outside if the cards told you it was going to rain."

"I did, didn't I?"

"What happened?"

"... your friend, Akechi-kun. When he first began using my services, we argued. I told him the cards predicted one's fate without fail, and he said: _care to make a wager?_ "

Akira snorted. "Yeah, that sounds like Goro. Did he convince you?"

"He did. There was a client of mine who was in an abusive relationship. She thought only Holy Stone would change her boyfriend's ways, and Akechi-kun was eavesdropping in. He was offended - I'd sold him a Holy Stone too - "

"You did _not_ ," said Akira. Goro wasn't dumb enough to fall for a trick like that, was he?

"I shouldn't have, I know," Chihaya said apologetically. "I didn't expect him to come storming back and try and steal my client, though. He told her he could fix her boyfriend without a Holy Stone or any other service, and _I_ told him to leave. Of course, a week later my client came back and told me she'd broken up with her boyfriend and he turned himself into the police. Can you imagine!"

"Oh," said Akira, tongue firmly in between his teeth. "I can imagine that pretty easily. Goro's... pretty fantastical, once you get to know him."

"It's as if - " she said, then shook her head. "Never mind, Akira-kun. It's your time right now."

"Yeah, my time with the worst card reading of all time." He sagged in his seat. "Five thousand yen just to get cosmically punched in the face."

"I can still give you an affinity reading any time you like - "

"Nah." He stared up at the Shinjuku night sky, the glowing lights of the towers and neon signs around them too bright even for stars. Maybe back home he'd see able to see the north star, or in that small town of horrors where Goro came from. "Don't even know who I'd use them for."

"If you say so." Chihaya collected her cards again. "Akira-kun, for someone so popular I'm surprised you're so stingy on the topic of friends."

He crossed his legs. "Isn't that always the thing with celebrities? Once you're on TV or a movie or whatever, you're not really..." He closed his eyes. "You stop being a person in people's eyes. Instead you're an idol, or some pretty face, or a walking punchline. You're there for their entertainment. Not to make them feel bored or annoyed with how crabby you can be in person, or ugly without makeup on, or..."

"I'm sure some people feel that way about you," Chihaya said gently. "But everyone in your life? Are you so sure about that?"

Akira opened his eyes and saw her, pink lips parted with a name on her tongue. A suggestion, a hint, a promise of better things.

And he shook his head. If this was going to happen, then -

"I don't want the cards to _guide_ me every time something in my life goes wrong," he said. "If I want to succeed, I want to do it on my own terms. Not by cheating."

"They're not cheating," Chihaya said. "They're just a helping hand."

"I have two hands already," Akira said, and held them up just for show.

"Very well. Be stubborn." She huffed. "Sometimes I even wonder why you come, then."

"You're good company, aren't you?"

"Don't you lie now!"

"I'm not, I'm not!" He straightened up, fished his wallet out of his pocket. "Your usual. Five thousand for five minutes. Maybe _I_ should pick this up as a side hustle."

"Find your own turf first," she retorted, but with no bite.

"Yeah, I'll start peddling in Yongen instead." He got up. "See ya later."

" _Wait_. Before you go," Chihaya said, getting up herself. "I meant to ask you something. Akira-kun, you're a detective..."

Something in his fingers began to ache. "Need me to find a lost cat for you?"

"A person, more like," said Chihaya. "Akira... could you look into what happened to the ADP director? I haven't seen him in almost two months now, and - "

"The scam artist?" he interrupted. "The one who made you sell those fake stones? Why him?"

"... because I'm worried," said Chihaya. "Because I looked up his fortune and all I saw in the cards was Death."

Oh. Oh. Of course.

"I'll think about it," Akira said. "If there's a free slot in my schedule. I'm still pretty busy."

"I know. You're still in high school. I don't mean to pressure you, but - " Chihaya's shoulders slumped. "I thought you might know more, since you asked me about him before."

He shrugged. "I wanted to get him off your back for you, but I didn't have the time. My school had a trip going to Los Angeles, and I had to go too - mandatory attendance. You know how it is."

"I do. And for what it's worth, thank you for trying. I didn't have anyone else to turn to."

"No problem," Akira said. "What else are friends for?"

And walked off without once looking back.

* * *

Shinjuku, despite the occasional wave of petty crime that swept over its litter-strewn streets, was a place for youngsters, and whispers and gossip followed him from Chihaya's table back to the station.

Wearing the Third Eye's bomber jacket and stylized messenger bag had its purposes, but so did going incognito. Unfortunately, when you had a mop of hair like Kurusu Akira, even slouching against a column in plain clothes and a grey hoodie halfway covering his face didn't mean much.

Maybe he ought to wear his glasses more often. He did at school. It made him appear more studious somehow, more sincere, yet less approachable.

It also felt wrong. He was a contacts man. And he didn't need the social shielding glasses provided. Not anymore.

"Excuse me? Are you Kurusu-kun?"

A couple of girls hovered nervously only a few feet away from him. Both in uniform and with their school bags hanging off their arms, which meant they had probably come here right after cram school. Both pretty.

And both obviously fans by the way they were blushing in his general direction.

Come on. Smile.

"That's me," he said, and pulled his hoodie away from his face to seem more accommodating. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh my _God_ ," said Girl A, with straight bangs and black hair down to her waist. "We love your work!"

"You're really cool on TV," said Girl B, with light brown hair almost the same shade as Goro's - but her roots were showing, whereas his was immaculate. Akira had never asked if the boy dyed his hair... but surely not, with his prim attitude and general lack of fussiness when it came to his appearance. People who got excited over wearing a t-shirt and sneakers for a date didn't dye their hair. It had to be natural.

"... my dad's really not a big fan when I change the channel to watch a show that you're on," Girl B was saying. "But I think I converted my mom into being your fan? I was wondering if we could take a photo together."

"Our friends would be so jealous," said Girl A, clasping her hands together. "Please, Kurusu-kun?"

Akira blinked.

Now, now, is that the behaviour of a gentleman? Answer the ladies, dear boy.

Was he a gentleman? He'd thought he was a thief. A joker. The joker.

"... um, Kurusu-kun?"

"Ye - yeah. Sure." He ruffled his hair and grinned in a whoops-you-got-me manner. "Sorry, I'm just totally blitzed thinking about school and work and all. You know how it is."

"We do," said Girl B. "Cram school is the worst." She was taking out her phone already, a red-and-black bead chain dangling off the end.

"Is that for me?" he said, amused.

"It's for the Phantom Thieves," Girl A informed him. "Isn't she _such_ a traitor? She bought like half their merc just last week!"

"Shut up, Ami! It's not my fault the Thieves have the same colours as the Third Eye. I like you better, Kurusu-kun. It's just - "

"Pose," Akira said, and both girls melded to his sides as if they were born for it, and beamed as wide as their smiles would allow.

And then the train rattled into the station, and broke the spell his presence had over them.

"Thank you so much," Girl B gushed. "It's going to be my wallpaper from now on. You're amazing, Kurusu-kun!"

"Yeah, do your best!" Girl A gave him a thumbs up, even as she was rushing to get in. "If anyone can fix what's wrong in the world, it's you!"

And then the train doors shut on them, and Akira's phone rung.

It was Sae-san. No doubt with questions he didn't have the answers to, accusations he couldn't refute without damning himself.

Without thinking, his finger found the power button and he turned it off.

He didn't need this right now. Not right now. Not right now.

Kurusu Akira rode the train home in silence, and when he was recognized agan, pulled his hoodie up all the way up and just told people they were mistaken.

* * *

It was eight in the morning, and Okumura Haru went to the kitchen where Yamada-san prepared breakfast every day and said, "May I take his meal to him today?"

The middle-aged woman dropped the ladle in the pot of miso soup she was making. "Haru-san! I'm surprised to see you here. Shouldn't you be getting ready for school?"

Haru wasn't in her uniform yet. She smiled, not daring to step past the marble island and into Yamada-san's domain. "You've done so much for Father while he's been absent. I should do my part too."

Yamada-san wiped her hands on her apron. "Absent. Perhaps that's a good term for it." She nodded. "Very well. Please, just give me a moment. Oh, how happy Okumura-san will know when he's better to know his own daughter was tending to him!"

Haru found a chair to sit in, and put her hands in her lap while she waited.

Despite the glamorous modern penthouse they lived in, Father had always been a traditionalist. Haru had eaten the same breakfast of white rice, miso soup with tofu, grilled mackerel, raw egg, crisp seaweed, and natto since she could hold her own chopsticks. Nor had she been allowed to dine at the same table with Father (and Mother, when she was here) until she could finish a meal without making a sound or dropping a grain of rice from her bowl. Even with an audience of two, she'd had her part to play.

Father had been absent, as Haru thought of him, for almost a month now, and for a while she had followed his rules even in his absence, ate the same breakfast and went to school at the same time, and barring Thief time or gardening days, came back and dined on her lonesome.

Then Makoto had become uncomfortable in her own home, and Haru found it unbearable to watch her friend bite her nails at the prospect of being questioned by her sister yet again. So she had invited her to stay the night once, then twice. Makoto didn't always accept her invitation - "If I keep running now, I'll always end up running away," she told Haru, the last time she'd rejected her. "Plus, I can't keep bothering you forever."

She didn't know how badly Haru wanted to be bothered. There was nothing to look forward to when she came home at the end of the day. Father would mumble a few paltry words to her in his sleep. Yamada-san would draw a bath for her, remind her when to stop studying and turn out the lights.

And sometimes Sugimura-san would request entrance, and Haru feign a sudden illness to avoid him.

It gnawed on her daily that Father had chained her to this boor of all men and never regretted it. Sugimura-san was from a prominent political clan, born from the blue blood, as it were. The Okumura family could trace its lineage to something grand too, a relation to the imperial family via the illegitimate son of an illegitimate son of an illegitimate son a few hundred years back or so. But they were merchants. Tradesmen. Common people.

Sugimura-san had never sweated a day in his life. Neither had Haru, until she became Noir. But one could say the same for his grandfather. It wasn't true of hers.

What was the idiom again? Rags to riches to rags? Ah, yes. Sugimura-san had a penchant for silk-lined suits, for shopping exclusively from Italian tailors in Roppongi who charged a million yen a suit and spoke only the most basic Japanese. _Hello. How are you. And who is she?_

Sugimura-san had a penchant for a lot of things. Expensive suits, expensive cars, expensive women. He'd had a girlfriend when Father proposed the contract. He'd dropped her right after (or so people said).

But then, people said a lot of things.

Sugimura-san said a lot of things.

Father said a lot of things.

Haru... often said a lot of nothing.

It couldn't be helped.

(Could it?)

* * *

Father was asleep when Haru opened the door to his bedroom and pushed in the breakfast cart with his usual. Even if he wasn't wholly lucid, Yamada-san said, he could eat (so long as he was fed) and go to the bathroom (as long as he was held up) and sometimes he spoke. The doctors found nothing wrong with him. He merely needed time.

The Thieves' targets always needed time after a change of heart. Yet the sight of him was unnerving still; his skin sallow, the sweat beading on his brow even though it was October now, and the apartment always a reasonable eighteen degrees. He muttered in his sleep a lot. Sometimes he wept.

Or so Yamada-san said.

Haru wet a clean towel in a bowl of water and squeezed it dry before patting his face. It seemed to make him more comfortable. He sighed.

He mumbled, "Yamada-san?"

"Good morning, Father," Haru said.

He rolled to one side and groaned for tea. "It's still hot," Haru said. "Would you like ochazuke, Father? I heard it's good for people who are ill."

"Bring it here," he said with his eyes still screwed shut, and Haru poured green tea into his rice bowl and lifted the resulting porridge up to his mouth with a spoon.

 _Is this what being filial means?_ she wondered, when some of the rice spilled down his chin and she wiped it clean with a cloth. _Father, if only you knew who was doing this for you. Would you be grateful? Would you thank me?_

_Would you think it was only my God-given duty as your daughter, and send me away once you were done?_

She fed him the ochazuke, and the grilled mackerel once she had shredded it into small boneless portions with the chopsticks, and the soft tamagoyaki (Yamada-san had forgone the raw egg, thankfully), and half the miso soup before he began to splutter, and Haru wiped his face clean again.

"I'm tired, Yamada-san," Father rasped in his low voice. "I'm tired. Aren't you?"

"Yes," said Haru. "Perhaps you should give me some time off. I'd like to see my family again."

He shuddered. "No, I need you. Ever since Rena left, I don't have anyone to take care of the house. I don't have anyone."

"You have Haru."

" _Haru_ \- " he struggled, as if he was drowning, as if there was a pillow pressing down on his face and not just cool air. "Haru is just - I don't know Haru."

Haru's hands held icicles. "You could," she said. "She's always wanted to be close to you. If only - "

"It's too late," he whispered. "Just like with Rena. It's too late for me. It's too late for Haru - "

"It's not!"

Haru's voice rung out through the room like a beacon call, like a body smashing against glass, like hope penetrating into the soul of a dying man only to find a barrier as hollow as despair.

"You don't have the right to say that," she said, heat rising in her body. "You don't. It's not _fair_ \- "

"Haru-san! Is everything alright?"

She closed her eyes. It was Yamada-san.

"Oh my, Okumura-san is shuddering! Did something happen? Please, you should have your own breakfast and go to school. You'll be late at this rate!"

"It's alright," she said. "Have the chauffeur ready in five. I'll be dressed in just a moment."

"But you haven't eaten yet."

Haru shook her head. "To tell you the truth," she said. "I prefer buttered toast and a cappuccino in the mornings. Thank you for your hard work, Yamada-san."

And walked out.

* * *

"Isn't this something," drawled Ohya when Goro walked into Crossroads that evening alone. "Where's Kurusu? Did the partnership fall through?"

Goro slid into the stool facing her. "Not at all. Akira knows about our meeting."

"But he's not here? How disappointing."

"Don't you find it dull when people are always joined to the hip? Besides, I came to check up on whether you're still interested in our deal. I don't need Akira for that."

"Hmm. Yeah. More booth talk, huh?" Ohya shrugged. "You're lucky I'm even willing to hear you out right now, considering your own source didn't want to talk to me about you-know-who when I called her up."

"... it's been a complicated process," Goro said. "People have to be persuaded to talk sometimes. And she wasn't in the mood before." Wasn't even now, actually. Isshiki-san had no idea Goro was here yet. Fun.

"Uh huh. You're telling me." Ohya grinned. "Kid, you're awfully big for your britches, aren't you? Then again, most teenagers don't go rumbling against the mafia and come out in one piece. Not like I have any assignments at the moment, so I'll hear you out." She pointed her pen at him. "On one condition."

Oh dear. "You mean getting the scoop of the century isn't enough a prize for you? What else could a humble boy like me possibly offer you in return?"

"Do I _look_ like I work for free? Quid pro quo is how the industry goes." Ohya slid off her stool, picked up her things. "Let's chat. Lala-chan, make me a gin and tonic, will you?"

"Clear your tab first, you brat," grunted the owner. "A water for you again, hon?"

"Yes, ma'am," Goro said. "Thank you."

" _See_ , Ichiko? Why can't you have some manners like him?"

"Lala-chan, please!" Ohya called over, already in the booth. "You don't think he's a goody two-shoes just because he doesn't drink underage, do you? Kids that look this innocent are the biggest devils out there!"

_Rude._

"That's not true, Lala-san," he said. "I'm a model student at school."

"I believe you." She slid over both his glass of water and Ohya's drink. "Now keep it down, will you?"

* * *

"So," Ohya said after she'd drained her drink. "Shido. Shiiiiido. Shidoooooo."

"Ohya-san - "

"Shh!" She wagged a finger at him. "I'm thinking it over."

"Thinking over the deal?"

" _Thinking_ ," she said, "on why a kid like you has it out for a guy like him."

Goro shrugged. "I find his politics abhorrent."

"Yeah, I find the gum stuck on my shoe abhorrent. So?"

"He tried to have my source kidnapped," Goro said. "Using a pair of men who claimed to work for Kaneshiro, but confessed when pressed. That's why."

"What?" said Ohya, and trying to keep Phantom Thievery out of his story (almost impossible) as much as he could, Goro told her of the fateful encounter at Isshiki-san's office.

In the end, everything about the Thieves' current predicament originated from then, didn't it? Goro's infantile mistake - his failure to scope out the area first - his decision to pickpocket Isshiki-san's door to impress Futaba -

Forget it. What was done was done. He'd made his mess, and now he had to clean it. Barring those in too deep, no one else need get involved.

(Like Akira. Right?)

"That's... good," Ohya said, gripping her pen tight after he was done. "And your source - Isshiki Wakaba - will corrobeate everything you're saying here?"

"Yes." They could dig up the camera footage too, either from Isshiki-san's office if it hadn't been deleted already, or more likely from Nijima-san's case files. "So you understand - it's personal."

"Uh huh." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look... I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I can't tell you anything different from the last time we talked. I've lived with my ear glued to the grape vine for years now, so I know when a target is gettable and when they're not. Shido has connections, and a lot more resources at hand than my shitty little paper ever could. He's already fucked with us before, and - "

She hadn't mentioned that before. "What do you mean by that?"

"I _mean_ ," she stressed. "I know what his tactics are like first hand. Before I was in the rag division, I used to write for politics. Stuff that got people to notice when something horrible was creeping just under their noses. I..." She pursed her lips. "I had a partner then. Murakami Kayo. She and I worked on every piece together. She went out undercover and got us what we needed, and I'd compile the information and put it all together."

"Shido was one of your targets back then," Goro said.

"Not directly. We tried to get to him through one of his associates. Kayo thought - well, I don't know what she thought. But she didn't come back one day, and suddenly I didn't have a partner anymore." She held out her hands in a helpless gesture. "Surprise, Ichiko! Now you're working the tabloids and gossiping about the dating lives of teen idols and trashy actors, and oh, don't bring up your old articles anymore because that's all in the past and you never had any proof to begin with! And especially don't bring up Kayo, even if - especially because she's gone, and the news world is all about tomorrow!"

Her voice cracked. A diamond glittered at the corner of her eye, which to the lesser eye could be seen as a tear. Not to Goro. He saw it for what it was.

Resolution.

"What I need," said Ohya, "beyond witnesses, beyond anecdotes, beyond rumours is something concrete. Something that says, no one can deny what this guy's done anymore, no one can pretend it didn't happen just because we didn't have proof. Something like - "

"A confession," Goro said. "An accounting of all his wrongdoings past, present and future, from the mouth of the devil himself."

The upward curl of her thin red lips as she smiled was near-demonic. "Exactly."

"Good thing I happen to know a few people."

"Do you now." At once her gaze grew contemplative, attentive, sharp; she was no longer the drunken lush that could be dismissed at a scornful glance's moment nor the woman trying to stay strong as she recounted her partner's disappearance (and likely death), but a reporter proper, with dark and watchful eyes and the implication that she knew already what his game was, and what she wanted out of it.

"Tell me," said Ohya Ichiko with the lazy demeanour of a panther lounging about in the sun. "Do these people you know have a certain technique in which they extract these confessions? Because I'd love to get a tell-all interview one day. No holds barred, no secrets withheld."

If there was one thing Akechi Goro had in surplus his entire life, it was a bounty of secrets, and the creeping ability to use them as capital the older he grew. He could seldom afford anything else, but this? Oh, yes.

 _Sly, sly,_ Robin Hood murmured, but with fondness. It was so rarely unpatronizing of the Persona that Goro smiled instinctively before he realized he looked like an idiot.

"When this is over," he promised, "you'll never need another subject again." If the way knock-off Thieves merchandise was flying off the racks in Rocinante and other Shibuya shops, Ohya might never even need to _write_ again.

Ohya whistled. "Kurusu might not be so happy to hear that, you know."

"Akira's a gentleman," Goro said, confident that it didn't matter. "He's a part of this too."

"I'm sure he is."

Ohya traced the rim of her glass with a finger, the imprint of her lipstick as red a smear as blood in water. "If," she said, "you can get me Shido's confession, I'll move the heavens and earth to get the story out. But this isn't going to be easy. What do you think is going to happen if you fail, huh? Or if you get found out? You're just a kid, after all."

"I'm not the one doing anything."

"Try that fake shit on someone else." Ohya snorted. "Plus, if Shido finds out I'm working a piece on him before everything's cleared - whoo, boy. Goodbye to ever showing your face in public again, Ichiko. Goodbye to ever taking the train and walking home by yourself, Ichiko. Good _bye_ , Ichiko."

"You think he'll come after you?"

"I think some associates who-are-totally-not-working-for-him will give me a friendly chat and the option of becoming a hermit or a paraplegic," said Ohya. Goro pulled a face, making her laugh. "Nasty, isn't it? I'm not going to coddle you about this. You want to play ball with the grownups, this is what some grownups do when they don't get their way."

"I'm eighteen. Practically an adult myself."

"No, you're not. Not even close. But then again, I'm the one relying on dodgy high school students to act as half my sources, so what do I know?" She sank back into the plush booth and yawned. "Okay, Akechi. I'll bite. But don't say I didn't warn you."

"How long do you need?"

"Bigger question: when are you going to make the confession happen? Talk to me then."

"As soon as we can. We just need some time."

" _We?_ " she said with a smirk. "Sure. I don't care. So long as you're not beating over Shido's legs with a tire iron to get his confession out, I don't give a rat's ass how you get it done. A guy like him deserves worse to begin with."

"Probably," Goro said, and got up.

He returned their glasses to the counter and a wry, "Thanks, dear," from Lala-san while Ohya paid her tab with crumpled bills and loose change she dug out of her back pocket. Goro checked his phone, wincing when he saw only a single text from Boss wondering where he was at this time of night.

(Couldn’t it be anyone else? What he would do for one of Futaba’s nonsensical memes or more of Akira’s flirting right now.)

"I suppose you'll be working on another assignment while you wait on us, then?" he asked Ohya, who was checking her appearance in a compact mirror, flashing her teeth wide in case she had a garnish stuck in the gaps or something.

"I wish." She snapped her compact shut and shoved it inside her pink fanny pack. "No one at the damn office's been able to get any peace for a month now. Not with the damn cops coming in and out asking nosy questions about this-and-that. I haven't been able to concentrate at all." She rubbed at her eyes, smearing her liner. "You see why I'm so wary about Shido, right? The police already have my number, and - "

"What for?" Despite himself, curiosity pricked at the corners of his mind. "You haven't been doing anything illegal, have you, Ohya-san?"

"How dare you," she said, semi-seriously. "No, it's my old editor, Honjo. He pissed off on a leave of absence a while back, but apparently he hasn't been seen or been in contact with anyone for weeks."

"The police think he's missing, then." A nod. "What do you think?"

"Me?" Ohya rubbed her shoulders. "I think... I'm glad to have that bastard off my back for once. You think I'd have time to chat with you if he was still around breathing quotas and other horseshit on my neck? Not a chance in hell."

Something began to ache in the back of Goro's mind, but it was a vague and slow thought, without form or shape or substance, and he put it aside. "His family must be worried."

"I'm sure they're choking up a storm right now." She slipped her sunglasses on. "Don't worry about a two-bit salaryman like him, though. You've got much bigger fry to chew right now."

"Yes," Goro said. "So do we all."

Still, he couldn't help but wonder.

* * *

His phone buzzed again and again as he made his way to the station, Crossroads a distant memory already.

 **Boss** : Where are you?  
**Boss** : It's nearly ten.  
**Boss** : What reason do you have to be out this late?

And because Goro deserved it:

 **Boss** : Wakaba told me everything.  
**Goro** : I'm sorry.  
**Goro** : Don't take it out on anyone else.  
**Goro** : Everything was my idea.

He couldn't remember. Wasn't it?

 **Goro** : I'm coming home soon.

But first, a detour.

* * *

"So," said Morgana tentatively. "How's the batch for tomorrow's curry looking?"

"Good," Boss said, and didn't elaborate.

Morgana curled up on a stool and tucked his tail in under his chin. This was the worst. Why had Goro left him behind to go talk to the journalist? He usually gave Morgana the option of staying with another of the Thieves if he wasn't going to be good company, but noooooo, today it seemed Morgana was stuck babysitting an increasingly sullen Boss while the trickster himself was probably living it up in Shinjuku, getting drunk at Crossroads and visiting host clubs for fun.

(No, he wasn't. Even in Morgana's pettiest fantasies he couldn't imagine Goro crossing that kind of line for anything. He was a Phantom Thief, not a degenerate.)

"Hey," he said, because the silence was getting unbearable. "Don't you think Goro's cooking is getting better? Sure, his curry is so mild a baby could eat it, but - "

A broom clattered onto the wooden floor, and Boss didn't lean down to pick it back up.

"Curry," he said. "Is that all you can talk about right now?"

"It's too quiet otherwise."

"Get used to it." Boss bent over, propped the broom back against the sink with a scowl. "Ain't like the kid's ever appreciated it anyway."

"Hey!" His claws came out, gouging into the leather seat. "And what do you mean by that?"

Boss just turned his back to him.

Morgana jumped onto the just-cleaned counters. "Look at me," he demanded. "Are you mad Goro kept Nijima's Palace a secret from you? Because he wasn't the only one, and we all had a good reason to!"

In the emptiness of Leblanc, his words came out wrong. They bounced off the coffee bars and soaked into the plush seats, and Morgana became aware of Boss' shoulders as stiff as stone, as cold as iron.

"... sure," the man said. "Kid's always got a good reason to keep secrets. Just like you, huh?"

 _Whatever you are_ , he might as well have said. If he had though, Morgana would have scratched his face up - and then what? It was good he had Mercurius by his side, to ease his temper and keep him from going astray.

 _Like before,_ he thought guiltily, and squashed the feeling down. They'd conquered Okumura Kunikazu's Palace in the end. Morgana hadn't impeded the mission. He'd just made it a little more urgent.

"Neither of us can help it," he said to Boss' back and the silence of this twenty-seat cafe long after closing. "I was born without knowing who I was or what I was meant to do in this world... and Goro's been the same way since birth. I think." He bit the inside of his cheek. "And we never know who out there is going to help or hurt us. So..."

"So you don't try and make a distinction between the two," said Boss. "Fine."

Morgana snarled in frustration. "What did you want us to do, Boss?"

"I wanted him to trust me!" The man whirled around with clenched fists and a vein in his neck. "I thought - after all I've tried and done to make him think my place was home, he'd stop thinking I was like every other useless adult out there when he was a kid. And it worked at first - he became friends with Futaba, he started enjoying helping out at Leblanc, we were getting somewhere. But this? Trying to play games with a prosecutor? Trying to take down Shido for real? He has no idea what he's doing, and neither do you and your friends for egging him on."

"We're not egging him on!" Morgana cried out. "We're just... doing our best with what we have."

"I bet you are." Boss sagged against the counter. "Do you ever think you're getting in too deep? Do you ever think you've picked a target you can't win against?"

He could only be honest. "No. We haven't."

"Good for you, then." Boss wiped his brow with a cloth, the lines heavy and dark on his face. "But it's easy to say that when you haven't even lived a leap year, have you?"

"... mock me all you like," Morgana said. "I know who my friends are."

They stared at each other for a long, bitter moment, dull black versus vivid blue.

And then Boss shook his head, and went into the washroom, and turned the tap on.

He stayed in there for five minutes, and Morgana thought about leaving. He hated not being able to use a phone at times like this the most. The other Thieves could talk to each other anytime they wanted, even  just to say hi or bye, a question about homework or one about dreams.

Morgana always had to wait his turn after everyone else, and for this he hated being a cat more than anything else.

The bell rung.

The door swung slowly open.

In a softer voice than usual Goro said, "Morgana. Is Boss here?"

Morgana barely had time to swing his head up to see the boy standing by Leblanc's entrance with a bouquet of blue flowers clutched to his chest before the bathroom door opened again and Boss came out and stared.

Was he seeing the same thing Morgana did? Because Goro could be cool, could be flashy, could be confident and stylish and occasionally a pest, but in small corners and in between the gaps he could be fumbling and nervous as any teenager afraid of the consequences, of crossing his guardian, of going too far and not being able to take it back.

"Good evening," Goro said. "I'm sorry I'm late coming home. I thought..." He gestured to the flowers with his free hand. "I'd pick these up to liven up the atmosphere."

 _Bluebells_. Goro used to work at the Rafflesia flower shop in the Shibuya Underground Mall early on in the year for cash, no longer did so much anymore - but bits and parcels of his growing knowledge had slipped through Morgana's ear via osmosis, and he understood what it meant, Goro bringing these flowers here, and now.

Gratitude.

"I thought they'd look good in a vase," said Goro. "Whether at Leblanc... or at home."

He looked hesitant. Morgana wanted to cry out: _abort! abort! Go to Futaba's, go to Lady Ann's - just not here!_

"Sit down," Boss said, and went behind the counter without giving either of them a second glance.

Morgana slunk back down onto his stool. Goro sat beside him, flowers still in his arms.

Morgana pressed a paw on the side of his thigh and looked up at him. _How are you?_

Goro's smile back was strained, but at least he was still smiling. He brushed Morgana's cheek with his knuckles and scratched him behind the ear.

Most of the time, he detested being a cat. Not now.

Boss was tinkering with the presses, making coffee at _this_ time of night. Goro didn't object, only lowered the bouquet to Morgana's nose so he could smell them, as if to say: _these are for you too._

He buried his face in them.

The clock dragged its second hand with effort. Boss set down a steaming cup in front of Goro, who took a sip. His lips, set in a fine line, puckered.

"Guatemalan SHB. Not my favourite.

"Too acidic," he added, when Boss said nothing.

Another cup. Really? Morgana twitched his ears, but kept quiet.

"Mocha Matari." Goro licked his lips after. "Very good. But too heavy for me." As if mumbling to himself: "Akira would like it though."

He was still Kurusu or Joker to everyone else, Morgana included, but it seemed a lifetime now since Goro had kept the boy at a distance. He didn't begrudge him his affections - how could he, a fellow romantic? - but he did worry.

Like everyone else, he worried.

One final cup. This time Goro drank the whole thing.

"Brazilian Bourbon. Lovely. But why?"

"I was wondering if you'd learned anything during your time at Leblanc."

Goro huffed in a feint of a laugh. "Of course I have. Futaba says I'm becoming just like you."

"Even so. It's never been to your taste, has it?"

"I can't help my tastebuds. I never got to eat sugar as a child, so now it's all I crave."

"It's fine," Morgana said loyally. "It doesn't matter what you eat so long as you enjoy yourself."

The comment caught the boy off-guard. "That's right." He turned back to Boss, as if afraid to ignore him for too long. "I'm sorry, Sakura-san. I know you're upset at me."

"... again." Boss shook his head. "But you don't know why, do you? Why it's different from before."

"No," Goro said. "Except that this time, you're not inclined to forget and forgive."

"Ha." Boss removed his glasses, rubbed at his eyes. "Tell me, kid. How do you see this Thief business ending out for you? Do you think you're going to be on top forever?"

"I..." Goro wet his mouth. "Of course not. We'll have to end it one day or another. Nor will we always have targets to go after."

"Yeah. If you live long enough to decide that for yourselves."

Goro stiffened, and Morgana hissed, "Hey! What are you implying!"

"You're on the edge of a cliff," Boss said. "And I don't know if I can stay and watch to find out if you're going to step away from the edge or jump right off."

"Sakura-san- "

"So what should we do?" said Morgana. "If you know so much better than us, tell us."

The bouquet was half-crushed in Goro's arms now, his face bent low enough it seemed as if flowers were growing from his skin. Morgana itched. He said, "I know you're angry - I know you're upset - and I’m sorry we lied to you, I'm sorry we made you feel like a fool for caring about us, and yes, we made a mistake, but - "

"I made a mistake," Goro clarified, with the muddiest voice Morgana had ever heard from him.

"But we're going to fix it. So what do you want to do, Boss? Do you want to kick us out? Because we're a two-for-one deal, and if you're kicking Goro out, then I'm leaving too. And then Futaba's going to hate you, and so will - "

"I don't want you to do anything!" Boss barked. "God damn it, I just wanted you to trust me. That's all. That's all." He screwed his eyes shut. "You have no idea how stupid and _incompetent_ I feel when I have to hear from Wakaba - from anyone's mouth but _you_ what you've been doing behind my back months on end, and I've just been twiddling my thumbs making curry and leaving you to run the shop half the time for so-called life experience while you've been skulking around and almost getting yourself killed! What do you think that manager from your old place is going to think if you get arrested? If Shido's thugs get their hands on you? You think she wouldn't wonder what the hell happened to you?"

" _Of course_ ," said Goro in a voice as tight as strings. "I know how much Sensei cares about me."

"What about me? Do you think I don't care?"

"I - " He stopped. "I - 

"I don't know," he said dumbly, and stared, as did Morgana, as Boss put a hand over his eyes and wept.

If it was Lady Ann they could have jumped right in and embraced her. If it was Ryuji, they could have just patted him on the shoulder and teased him for getting soft. If it was Joker - Kurusu - Akira, Goro would have given half his heart over to make the boy smile again, and not regretted it.

But it was Boss, and both of them were too petrified to make a sound. Morgana was a still life, and Goro was -

Goro got out of his chair and said, "I'm sorry, Sakura-san. I just I thought I was an obligation to you."

"You thought," rasped Boss, his words as rusted as iron, as broken as glass.

At this point Goro turned heel and fled, and because Morgana was a coward, he followed.

Neither of them saw what Boss did with the bouquet of bluebells after - whether he put it in a vase, or threw it in the garbage, or crushed the flowers under his heel until they were matted as a carpet and filthy as a stain.

* * *

That night, when Boss entered the house he didn't say, "I'm home."

He went upstairs in silence, and neither Goro nor Morgana breathed until they heard his door lock and half an hour passed without further movement.

Morgana curled into a ball on the space just beneath Goro's pillow. "I'm sorry. It seems like everything's just getting worse for you."

"No, no." Goro shook his head, feigning calm as ever despite his wild heartbeat. "We still have a plan."

"But not a home for much longer, maybe."

"Oh." The boy exhaled. "If it comes to that, I'll find us a place to live, Morgana. You won't starve."

"It's not me I'm worried about."

"No? I'm sorry for neglecting you lately. For not thinking about you." Goro closed his eyes. "We'll get down to Mementos soon. For you."

"For me," Morgana echoed. "And what about you?"

A stifled laugh. "If by the end of this year I'm not in jail, I'll count myself lucky."

"If you are, I'll give you one of my nine lives so you can escape."

A reddish-hazel eye cracked open just to spite him. "But Morgana, only cats have nine lives."

"My bad," he said sullenly. "You get nothing, then."

A hand on his back, petting him in consolation. "Thank you," Goro murmured. "But I don't want anyone to risk their lives for me. I'm not worth it."

He hated this. When Goro got in a mood like this, nothing could deter him. At least when he was sad, he could be comforted. This? Morgana didn't know what to say.

So he said, "Sure. But you have to be worth something."

"I am," Goro agreed. "And to someone, surely. Just... not..."

He didn't finish his sentence. His breath slowed, and the artificial sweetness on his face dissolved into the gentle neutrality of sleep. Morgana laid a paw on his cheek, felt the dampness there. If he'd licked it, he would know how much it tasted like the sea.

The door was locked, and no one was going to disturb them. Even so, Morgana kept guard all night. It seemed only fair.

* * *

"You okay, Crow?" Oracle said the day after, when they were back in the casino and taking the elevator up to the high limit floor. "Mona told me it didn't go so well with Sojiro yesterday."

"Oh no," said Noir. "Did something happen?"

Goro put on his best face and shrugged. "Sakura-san had some concerns about our mission at hand, and advised us to proceed with caution. That's all."

" _Sakura-san_ ," Oracle said in a strangled voice.

"Boss can be cranky at the best of times," Joker said, and Goro shot him a look of both annoyance and gratefulness. Cranky was one way to explain what he'd seen yesterday.

Or experienced. He still struggled to put it into words. So he didn't.

A hand slipped into his and squeezed, red and white and gloved. Joker gave him a smile, then because he was a charlatan, a wink. In an elevator crammed full of people who suspected him to be the mysterious instigator behind the rampage incidents, it was an absurd thing to do.

But as someone who had just taken Goro on a date a few days ago and pulled the very American move of stimulating a yawn only to put an arm around his victim's shoulders, it was... appropriate.

And welcome.

And needed.

Goro squeezed his hand back, and Joker's smile was warm, and comforting, and real.

(Unlike everything else in your life. You really are an idiot, you know that?)

* * *

"In this world," said the Shadow of Nijima Sae. "You either win or lose, and I intend to win by all means necessary."

"If you say so, Sis," said a resigned Queen, and back into the casino they went.

* * *

"A hundred thousand coins?! Where are we going to get that kind of bank in this shitty Palace?"

"Heh," said Oracle. "Bank. Get it? Like Kaneshiro - "

"We'll just do what we did before," Queen said. "Come on, everyone. Let's see what we're up against next."

Back in the lobby, it was between the House of Darkness and the Battle Arena. Some poking about revealed the latter had a ten grand entrance fee, which they did not have at hand right now - so the House of Darkness it was.

Even better: the friendly Shadow Attendant told them about VIPs sending substitutes to play for them on this floor, causing Joker's mouth to twitch and Fox's tail to... also twitch? Goro didn't want to think about how that worked.

" _Yo_ ," said Skull.

"Yo more," said Oracle. "The game's back on!"

"No," said Goro, arms crossed. "We're already wasting enough time as it is."

"Don't be a stick in the mud, Crow! Besides, don't you want a moment to relax?"

Panther squeezed him on the shoulder. Goro jolted, turning to her in surprise, but she just smiled.

"Take your time," she said gently.

As if she knew.

He coughed. "Alright. Just - please call for help if you need it."

"It's cool, bro. Me and Seiten Taisei have got this!"

"Prometheus is gonna analyze all the clues."

"Should be fun," Joker said, adjusting a glove.

Fox, the only sensible one in that group of troublemakers, promised: "We'll be good."

And so they vanished, and left Goro behind.

* * *

"What..." Skull said the second the doors shut behind them and they were engulfed in complete darkness. "This is pitch black! I can't see a thing!"

"Let's turn back," said Fox. Futaba heard rattling - the boy shaking the handles - then a sigh. "We're locked in."

"There's some Shadows nearby." Futaba grimaced, Prometheus sending out waves of feelers around her. "But I can't see them unless we get closer. Ugh, we should have known it was a trap!"

"Oracle, you don't have night vision?"

"Never needed it before."

"Joker, where are you?"

"Up ahead," the boy called out. "Don't worry, we can do this."

"What - where are you? How are you not bumping into the walls right now?"

Joker chuckled, and Futaba wished it didn't sound so ominous coming from him. "Think about it, Skull. Why am I called the Third Eye again?"

"Uhh, because it sounds cool? Hell, I don't know!"

"You think it sounds cool?" He was totally smirking right nw.

"Let me guess," said Fox, somewhere behind Futaba. "It's a reference to an ability you have in the Metaverse, yes?"

"Top marks to Kitagawa in 2C," Joker drawled. "It helps me see things no one else can. Treasures, hidden spots, vents - "

"Night vision," Futaba said, not jealous at all.

"Night vision. The point being, I can see through the maze. Just follow my lead."

"Just follow my lead," she grumbled. A hand touched her shoulder blades, and she jumped. "Back off, creep! I know how to use pepper spray!"

"It's me, Oracle," Panther whispered.

"Oh. Sorry!"

"Oracle," Skull said. "You ain't afraid of the dark, are you?"

"I," said Futaba, "am only afraid of how much of your ass I could kick if you spook up on me unawares."

"So why didn't you kick Panther's ass?"

"That's 'cause Panther rules."

"I have to agree."

"Thanks!"

" _Guys_." Joker's voice cut through the air like a whistle. "Fun as the peanut gallery skit is, we have Shadows approaching. Analysis?"

"Uh - " Futaba tried to concentrate. "Big. Scary. Tough. And coming our way."

"Crow pays you for this, huh?"

"Shut up, he doesn't pay me at all! Only in DVDs and snack money - "

"Oracle," Fox intoned gravely. "We'll protect you."

"Focus!" Panther clapped. "Joker, would you do us the honours?"

"Yeah, tear its mask off already!"

"Just so you know," Futaba said, literally unable to help herself out of spite. "Crow usually trips them first."

* * *

"I," said Queen as she sat in a red plush sofa that would cost half a year's salary to buy in the real world, "cannot believe this place has a VIP lounge."

Beside her, Noir was sipping on a blue drink in a glass. A cognitive attendant had come around with drinks, and all of them accepted to be polite. Goro, sitting across from them, was holding a pink and fruity drink that tasted of strawberry slush with a heady kick and had likely no nutritional value. "Cognitive food," he murmured. "Now I've really seen it all."

"Speaking from experience," said Mona, the temporary owner of some melon green slush, "it's not like you actually get hungry in the Metaverse unless you're tired or take damage. You'll never starve to death."

"You know a lot about the Metaverse, Mona," said Noir, making him preen. "But the rest of us are only human. Are you so sure it works the same for us?"

"Let's find out then," Goro said dryly. "Weekend sleepover at Nijima-san's place."

Noir giggled and Mona grinned, but Queen only stared into her half-empty glass and sighed.

"Crow..." she said finally. "You realize we're dancing on landmines here, don't you?"

It was too much to hope the light mood would last. "Which landmine?"

"Joker. Sis. Our supposed plan. Wouldn't it be simpler if we just came clean and told her we suspect him of being the Warden?"

"We have no proof. Only suspicions."

"When have they ever led us astray?"

"Queen - "

"We shouldn't," said Noir. They turned to her, and she smiled. "Really, all we have to go on is that he had his Persona before he became a Thief - "

"And used it to jumpstart his career as a false detective," Queen said. "We know."

It was the truth, yet the words made Goro's stomach lurch. "That's a harsh assessment. Just because his methods have been unorthodox doesn't mean everything else follows. He solved his cases."

" _With_ Sis' help."

"Oh," said Mona in realization. "Queen, don't tell me you're jealous!"

"I am not - " she began, pink creeping over her face. "I just think he's not telling us the whole truth about how he does things."

"We're also spying on him and your sister. How's that for the whole truth?"

"How could I forget?"

"Makoto..." Noir set her drink aside. "If we told Nijima-san what we suspected about Joker, she'd only think we were trying to scapegoat him. After all, she's worked with him for over a year at least. Plus, knowing her techniques as we do, I'd hate to see her turn on a colleague just like that."

"You don't suspect him?"

The girl worried at her lip. "I don't know yet. But he seems quite gentlemanly and kind so far. I don't want to dislike him for nothing, not when his sense of justice aligns so near to ours. And Crow likes him, doesn't he?"

"That's right!" Mona glared. "You left me behind on your date."

"Mona, don't complain about not being able to third wheel. It was just a movie to begin with." Goro covered his mouth with a gloved hand. "And I do like him. Unfortunately."

"There's nothing unfortunate about finding someone you care for," Noir said gently. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

"I'm not."

"Don't listen to him! Crow moves at the pace of molasses whenever he's infatuated with a boy." Mona's ears pricked up. "What about you, Noir? Are you engulfed in the blossom of romance yourself at the moment?"

To which she said enigmatically, "I'm leaving it to fate, Mona."

Queen turned the shade of eggplant at that, but to retain both their dwindling dignities, Goro didn't say a word against her.

* * *

Fuck life with a cactus, but Futaba was lost.

She hadn't meant it to happen, and the group had been fairly good about clustering together - Joker in front, Skull and Panther on either side of her, and Fox taking the back - but every post-fight moment was disorienting, since Joker was the only one who could see worth a damn. Prometheus only needed to get baked by a misfiring Ziodyne _once_ for Futaba to appreciate staying as far back as she could.

And the thing was, it had been working. Joker told them when they'd hit a dead end, when a Shadow was coming around and they flung themselves against the nearest wall so they didn't walk face first into a beating. He honed in on treasure chests quicker than Crow, and when the only door ostensibly leading out of the maze was locked, he saw the vent to freedom before Futaba even had the chance to give up and devolve into a cave troll.

She hated to admit it, but Joker was _good_.

(Not that she wanted to tell Crow that. The told-you-so look on his face would be insufferable.)

Honestly, she didn't know when things went wrong. Maybe it was when they went through the second set of vents and she fell off the ledge when she crawled through, almost cracking her head open on the cold, cold floor. Maybe it was when they found a split path and Skull's dumb ass immediately tailed for the one with the glowing lights, even when Joker had already gone down the path without, causing several Shadows to stampede after him until Fox diverted their attention by mimicking the cry of a loon ( _how_ did he know how to do that?).

Or maybe it was when Panther did a spin of triumph after another battle ended in victory, and her tail whacked Futaba in the face, _hard_. If she hadn't had her goggles on...

Oh well. Isshiki Futaba was going to die in complete and utter darkness, and she deserved it.

She couldn't hear the others' voices nor the shuffling patrol of Shadows nearby. Even Prometheus was quiet.

_Small creator, how will you get out of this one with your wits intact?_

Never mind.

On all those survival TV shows she used to marathon at three in the morning when suffering from a two-hit combo of insomnia and Pepsi they always said something about staying in your original location and not running off so the rescuers could track and find you properly. Surely the same logic went here, which was why Futaba was huddling in the corner of a dead end on her knees and not saying a peep to give herself away. The presence of Shadows probed distantly in her mind; they were around, but not close.

But then, neither were -

"Oracle, where are you?"

Joker! Futaba jumped to her feet in desperate relief. "I'm here!" she shouted without thinking. "I'm here, I'm here!"

And like a wounded deer crying out in the wild, she sensed _all_ the predators on high alert, and approaching her with rapid speed.

Oh fuck.

Think, Futaba, think! What would Crow do at a time like this? Wait, Crow could defend himself. Ugh, no shit! What would _she_ do -

Shadows couldn't _smell_ fear, could they?

It was too late. There was a crackling in the air, a suffocating smell like sulphur and smoke as a Shadow transformed into its true form, and still Futaba could sense it but couldn't _see_. Only - 

 _Rangda_ was all that came to mind as she screwed her eyes shut and prepared for death.

What a stupid way to go, Futaba. Way to go, Futaba.

The hit never came. Only a heart wrenching death scream that deafened her for a full minute, grit in her nostrils like charcoal and ash, and Joker pulling her up to her feet and saying, " _Oracle_."

He slung her arm around his shoulder and hauled her out of the darkness and into the light, into a well-lit room with decorations and red carpet and vision, Fox and Skull and Panther crowding around them the second they were in their line of sight.

"Hey, where'd you go! We were worried sick about you!"

"Oracle, you're not hurt, are you?"

"We're so glad you're safe."

Et cetera. Joker let her down, and Futaba stuttered, "I'm cool. Cool. Thanks," in turn.

"Crow would have had our heads if we let you get hit," Skull said, slouching now that there was nothing to worry about.

"Uh, you talking to me, guy who almost turned me into fried chicken? You?"

"It was an accident."

"It was not - " Futaba hinged her jaw shut. "Never mind. We should keep going. And uh, Joker..."

"Yeah?" He had his hands in his pockets, looking oh so casual too.

"Thanks. I think you actually saved my life there."

From him, a look of real surprise before it smoothed over into a TV perfect starlike grin. "Don't worry about it, Oracle," he said in his smooth voice. "What else are friends for?"

* * *

It appeared Queen's beverage was having a real effect on her because once it was empty she sighed in a tone that indicated she was about to overshare fast and heavy. Goro and Noir exchanged identical looks of knowing, a smile peeking from the latter's lips.

"What's wrong, Queen?" piped up Mona.

"I..." She gnawed on her bottom lip. "I keep thinking. About my father, you know."

"Oh," Noir said, deflating in the face of something serious. "He... passed away a few years ago, didn't he?"

"In the line of duty." Queen grimaced. "Drug bust gone wrong. Dad wanted to go in first, to convince the perpetrator to turn himself in peacefully. He didn't know the man had a gun until it was too late."

"Oh gosh." Noir twisted her mouth in pity. "I'm so sorry, Makoto."

"I've... had time to think about it," Queen said. "I always used to play the what-if game. What if he'd gone in with his partners and not alone. What if he'd had his own gun on him that day. He never..." She swallowed. "He never liked to have it. Said it warped your perspective. He told me he could always feel the weight of it on him, reminding him of itself." She held out her hands. "He never wanted to be the kind of person who no longer needed that reminder."

"Even when it led to his death?" Mona blurted out.

"Absurd, isn't it? Even if his own life was at risk, Dad was just so stubborn about never using violence even as a last resort. When he interrogated suspects he'd always bring them coffee and sandwiches first, so they'd be comfortable with him." She cast her gaze down. "The egg sandwiches from Lawson were his favourite."

Goro wanted to relate.

"He sounded like a kind man," he offered, because the only father figure he could think of in his life right now was Sakura-san, and his behaviour with Goro as of late was anything but kind.

(Was concern an act of kindness? Was anger channelled by worry, and fear? He didn't know. But it stung, and he didn't know how to make it go away. Every apology coming from his pale lips would seem only a lie, further deceit and base treachery of his guardian's former trust in him.

And maybe that was the truth. Maybe Goro could no longer make things better in some people's eyes, and he need just reconcile himself to it. Accept it.

Pretend to move on and live with it.)

"He was. The best." Queen stared at her hands, her heart. "When he was free, he'd have Sis and I volunteer at a charity organization for the homeless, or things like that. Sometimes we'd all just put on gloves and grab brooms and sweep the streets together." She closed her eyes. "It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"

"No way," Mona protested. "Your dad sounds wonderful, Queen."

A small laugh escaped her mouth like a fish wriggling out of a net. "I thought so too. But that work gets tiring too. And I think - " She slipped her hands to her face, pressed them against her cheeks. "Sis got tired of it. Tired of never having time to herself... and Dad, for never doing anything with us unless we were helping someone else."

"Oh," said Noir, and her voice was small. "That must have been tough."

Queen shrugged. "I didn't understand, then. I thought what we were doing was important because Dad was doing it with us. My teachers were so proud of me too. It's just... when you're in that line of work, volunteer or not, it doesn't really leave your mind just because you do. There's always people to care about, and they don't get better right away. Sometimes they relapse, or keep spiraling until it seems like there's no one left. It's not gratifying. It doesn't feel good. It just destroys you a little inside.

"Sis was already taking care of me, and trying to do well in school. I used to wonder why she became a prosecutor when Dad was a detective." She bit her lip. "Now I think I get it."

"It's easier," Goro found himself saying. "You get your conviction, you win your case, you go home."

“That ninety-nine percent conviction rate. You'd have to sleepwalk not to win by default."

"What?" said Mona. "That can't be right. How can so many people be guilty, then?"

Noir shook her head sadly. "They're not, Mona," she said, then darted a worried look at Queen, who held out her hands in surrender.

"Don't look at me. After all this, I don't think I could be a cop in good conscience anymore. Could you?"

"Me, work for the police?" said Goro. "Never."

"Me neither," said Mona.

"I - " Noir winced. "I always thought the police were just. That they protected innocent people from criminals." She hesitated. "But they're the ones who ignored our targets in the first place, allowing them to hurt so many people - and we're the ones who stopped them. They even think _we're_ the criminals - but we're not doing anything wrong."

"Well, innocent is a legal definition anyway," said Goro.

"And we're doing several things wrong at the moment," said Queen. Noir winced again.

(But... you know. Don't let it bother you and all. We're the good guys here.)

"Truly," said Queen. "I wonder what kind of path we're heading down at the moment. Whether it'll lead us true, or astray, or backwards. It feels like we're close to both complete success and utter mass destruction. Especially with our upcoming target."

Upcoming. If they were lucky to survive this one.

"I... don't know either," said Mona. "But as long as we're all together, we should still be fine, right?"

"We _are_ a team," said Noir, and looked at Goro with a searching glance. He cleared his throat.

"For better or for worse," he said, "we're all going down on this ship together."

"Right," said Queen, and sank back into the cushions.

* * *

"Hey, asshole!" Futaba yelled when the Shadow attendant blocked their way to the exit and disappeared behind a giant fan of glowing neon cards. "Get back here so I can pummel you already!"

"Sorry, Oracle," Joker said. "Looks like we're on the chase again."

Only this time they could _all_ see, and confidence regained, Futaba surged ahead of everyone. Never more than now did she wish Prometheus was on active duty. What would her weapon be? A slingshot? A pew pew raygun like Crow's? Nah, something _way_ cooler. Like -

Sneak here and slip there, run past that loser and tear off that guy's mask, and then they were beating down on the Snake King blocking their way back. They hadn't fought without Crow since the first time infiltrating Okumura's Palace, and, somehow it went better than expected. Futaba didn't get fried once, Skull focused on physical attacks, Fox did his Fox thing, Panther was stylish as always, and Joker was just ruffling his hair back into place as if a light wind had just gone by. Smug bastard.

But then, he deserved to show off.

* * *

By the time the House of Darkness team stumbled back into the lobby weary and sore, the VIP loungers had also returned, looking considerably more lax and fresh.

"Hey," said Panther. "Why do I smell fruit punch on all of you?"

"Cognitive drinks," Goro said, and didn't elaborate, even when Skull's eyes bugged out. "Do you have the coins?"

"Right here," Joker said, and passed the card to him. Well, no. He flung it in Goro's direction, and thank God his proficiency had grown over the months because missing would have been mortifying. Goro caught it out of the air with a smile. "My thanks to your hard work, then."

("Wait, were you actually drinking something? How do you know it wasn't poisoned!"

"It wasn't, Skull. And the drinks were quite nice."

"... can I get one?")

"Everyone did their part," said Joker. "Why don't we head over to the Battle Arena then?"

"Wow," Oracle said. "I wonder what _that_ could mean."

"We're all tapped out." Panther said as they made their way along. "How are we doing for supplies, Fox?"

"Not terrible. But we did use a great deal in the maze."

"Don't worry," said Noir. "The rest of us haven't gone yet. We'll do our best."

* * *

Unfortunately, doing their best meant cheering Crow on, because the Battle Arena was a one-on-one battle exclusively, and the moment the Shadow attendant said those words eight pairs of eyes swivelled to him like machinery and high expectations.

"Hope you don't die," said Futaba, and that was all the pep talk Crow got before he was hoisted into the arena and the Thieves clambered into a small observation area and watched.

"Ugh," groaned Skull the second two Shadow Ganeshas hulked into the ring instead of one. "I knew they'd be back on their bullshit."

"Crow has full health and SP right now. It should be fine. And ooh!" Mona squealed in pride. "Weak to Psy! Nice going!"

"Yeah, yeah, he's doing it!" Panther clapped. "It would have been _so_ much easier if he'd been in the maze with us."

"Aww, don't say that," Futaba drawled. "Joker here did a lot too."

" _Joker_ saved you from a premature death. Also, it's not very nice to pick on the newbie."

"I have to concur. By the way, how is our total doing?"

"Well, the entrance fee took out everything we just had." Queen sighed. "If Crow wins, we'll have fifty grand, but that's an _if_. And that's still not enough."

"He's doing fine at the moment," Joker said, and then the Ganeshas absorbed Kurama Tengu's Magarudyne and whacked him on the head. "Yikes."

"I volunteer Fox as new leader," Futaba said automatically.

"I forfeit," Fox said, also automatically.

"Ye of little faith, be patient," said Noir. "Ah, there we go! Much better."

"The total does worry me," said Queen. "I wonder - would it be possible to retry the giant slot machine and get the rest of our coins that way?"

"I like where this is going, Queen!"

"You mean go back to the lower floor?" Panther twisted her fingers together. "The security level's been pretty tense today. Not sure we should risk it."

"We _do_ know where everything is though," said Skull. "Plus this whole place is pissing me off. The sooner we can get out of here the better."

"Are you suggesting we try, Skull?"

"It's gotta be better than nothing."

"Nope," said Panther. "I'm done for the day."

"I as well." Fox cast his gaze towards the seniors. "Ladies...?"

"No."

Joker spoke first. "A team will just attract negative attention. Let me try on my own."

"And let you die?" said Queen. "I don't think so."

"I have better luck than that. Besides, I'll just be able to sneak back here if it doesn't work."

"I - "

"I'd like to go along as well," Noir said. When Joker raised a brow: "I haven't accomplished anything today. I want to pull my weight."

"That's just - " Queen looked uncomfortable, then rubbed at her temple. "Then I'll go too."

Okay, this was kind of cute. "Mona, it's your turn," Futaba said.

"What? What!"

"I'm just saying, these dorks need a navigator. And I'm... uh... tired. Yeah."

"This isn't... exactly what I had in mind," said Joker. "Four instead of one - "

"Makes for a more interesting fight," said Noir. "Don't you think?"

He just looked at her for a moment, then laughed. "Sure. Sure it does."

And so down they went, and Futaba began to breathe again.

* * *

"Okay, I'm just going to say it," she said when they'd left. "Earlier, when I was lost - a Shadow was going to attack me, but Joker killed it and saved me."

"That's great!" said Panther. "We were worried sick about you."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "Except it was a Rangda. Like _that_." Jabbing a finger at the arena, where Crow had moved onto fighting a trio of the monstrosities. "And two things: Rangda is immune to Curse skills, and reflects both Physical and Gun. So you tell me how he did it."

"I - " Skull gnawed on his lip. "He used the element of surprise?"

"All that does is give one an opening on the enemy," said Fox. "Very well. You think he has multiple Personas?"

"He took the fucker out in one clean hit," said Futaba. "Which... I'm not going to pretend I'm not grateful, because _holy shit_ , thanks for saving my life, Joker. I'm just saying - " She buried her face in her hands and groaned. "I'd love to dig through the secrets he's keeping, you know? This would be so much easier if we just knew everything."

"Well..." Panther looked helpless. "There's no rule saying you have to tell us everything about yourself when you join the PT. We're not entitled to know _everything_ about each other."

"Yeah, but this? Only Crow has multiple Personas, so I'd sure as hell like to know how and why Joker has them too."

"You don't know for sure," Fox said.

"Do you?" Futaba countered, and he gazed back at her without fear.

"I think," he said, "whether Joker is our suspected troublemaker or not, he's been an asset to our team since he's joined. Wouldn't you say the same?"

"He's kind of an asshole," said Skull. "No offense."

"If you look at the reasons for why he joined the team," said Panther. "I get it, you know? It can't be easy to work with someone for over a year and then suddenly to be accused of being an enemy of the public without any evidence. And yet, even now he wants to protect Nijima-san. I think that's pretty cool of him."

"Has Nijima-san actually questioned him yet?" said Fox. "Oracle, do you know?"

She shrugged. "She's been trying to contact him, but he's been turning his phone off a lot lately and not answering her. You can guess what that means."

"And everything else?"

"Still clean as a whistle," she admitted. "Can't believe it, but maybe we _are_ barking up the wrong tree, and Joker only has multiple Personas maybe because he's special like Crow, and nothing else."

"Maybe we should stop, then," said Panther. "What we're doing isn't right. You haven't been able to get anything off Nijima-san either, yet, have you?"

"No. Whatever she's doing at work, it's probably just shuffling paperwork and tying loose ends for now. Nothing big."

"Turns out we're not great as being spies," said Skull. "Big surprise."

"It was never our forte to begin with," said Fox. "But then, we owe Joker an apology."

"Yeah," said Futaba. "He did just save my ass too... so I'm accepting it for now. Although if it turns out he's scary prison rampage man after all, I'm first in line to punch him in the face, alright?"

"Punch him in the _face_?" said Skull. "Is that all you're gonna do?"

"Well, you tell me. What would you do?"

* * *

"Joker, the slot room is this way," said Noir when she caught him lingering by the entrance to the dice area. "Unless, you - ah - "

"It's nothing." Akira turned. "Let's go."

"Your cognition." Her smile was understanding. "Do you want to talk to him?"

Despite being only a year older, Noir had this gentle aura, at once both childlike and ageless. It was odd. She was only a schoolgirl from a lofty background, who grew curative vegetables on the roof (and by now Akira had sampled enough of her works to know she was _good_ ) and had an asshole of a fiancé Crow despised. "He's a bag of grease in a purple suit and nothing more," had been his acidic estimation after the movie, when they'd gone to a ramen and gyoza place and somehow the topic of their teammates and their relations had come up.

"Maybe we should change his heart in Mementos again," Akira had murmured, low enough no one else could hear.

He had expected a sour glance back, some dull speech about responsibilities and so on - but Goro had only given him a contemplative look, lips still flushed red from the hint of chili oil he had partaken in with his gyoza, and said in a quiet voice himself, "If Haru asks."

More than once, Akira wondered why she _hadn't_.

He wanted to know. But he didn't have her confidance, and though his relationship was Goro growing (they hadn't kissed, but a hug and a smile was just as good, right? Right?) that didn't give him the right to go up to his friend and say, "So, Okumura, I hear you have a creep of a fiancé who won't leave you alone, want me to get rid of him for you? Up to you how I do it, but I'll do it right."

(Oh please, Akira. You're not an assassin. Grow up and behave.)

"Sort of," he said as they rejoined Queen and Mona. Thankfully the security here wasn't that bad yet. "You talked to him before, didn't you?"

"I did. And he was  _very_ nice." Her gaze sparkled in knowing. "Don't tell me that's not how you see yourself."

"Joker, you don't like your cognition?" said Mona. "But he let me win so many times the last time we were here!"

"Yes, he was rather accommodating," said Queen. "Honestly, at least you even _have_ a cognition."

Akira honed in on that like a shark with blood in the water. "Sorry, Queen? Can you repeat that?"

"I - " She looked tense, then let it go. "Fine, I can admit it. I wish I had a cognition too. Because it would mean Sis was thinking about me."

"Maybe we can trade then."

"Very funny." She rolled her eyes. "At least she thinks you're a nice person. Doesn't that say something?"

Maybe. Like he was on the right path, still. God, who even knew anymore.

"There wasn't a cognition of me in my father's Palace either," said Noir. "I wondered what it meant, then... but perhaps it's better off, not knowing. His mentality was so warped, and if I'd seen what he'd truly thought of me, I'm not sure I could still continue to love him."

"I'm sorry, Noir," Akira said.

Her eyes creased into a small smile. "It's not your fault, Joker. And his condition is getting better nowadays. He's even talking."

"His change of heart has been taking a lot longer than our previous targets," said Queen. "I wonder what it means. Perhaps we didn't do it properly?"

"Or maybe he was too far gone to begin with," said Mona. "Can you imagine a target whose heart is so distorted even our tactics wouldn't work? Talk about scary!"

"Mona! Be more sensitive."

"It's okay." Noir pressed her lips together. "Honestly, I've heard much worse about my father... thought worse too, sometimes. But at least a new day is coming. Right?"

"Right," echoed Akira, and contemplated death.

* * *

Surprisingly the slot machine was reusable, which seemed like a ludicrous thing not to exploit - but then how often did Palaces come by to begin with, much less those who infiltrated them?

Security was tight, crawling with thrice as many Shadows as before, but Queen, Mona and Noir were excellent partners - more efficient than the previous set, Akira thought with amusement and guilt. Contrasting her serene personality, Noir was _exact_ with her axe, with the enthusiasm of a dolphin and the precision of a butcher. Queen in maybe five or ten years would make a great mixed martial artist, but for now only Shadows ate the brunt of her spiked knuckles, and that Freidyne of hers was absolutely blinding.

Mona was just pure delight in battle, and now that Akira had gotten over - _really_ gotten over his strange Metaverse body, his combination of Wind and Healing skills made him envious. _Pick up the pace, why don't you, Arsene?_

_Now, now. That's not what I'm here for and you know it._

So true. If only everybody was so flexible.

Then he was checking the main computer terminal again, glad they didn't have to redo the entire sequence, and with Noir's assistance ("Ah, I've always wanted to do something like this!") glittering golden coins poured out of the machine like an endless rain, a typhoon.

"Ah, this takes me back!" crowed Mona, submerged in the sweet hard cash.

"Mona..." Queen said, trying to sound serious but failing.

"You're a real magpie, aren't you?" Akira said. "Did you get it from someone?"

"Don't know! I just love treasure in all its forms!"

"I'll say," said Noir. "I heard from Fox how Mona even triggered a trap in Madarame's Palace because he couldn't keep his hands off a golden vase."

"In my defense, you would have done the same!"

" _None_ of us would have done the same," Queen said with a laugh. "Alright, we have what we need. Let's go."

"Come on, goldbug. Up you go." Akira snagged Mona up by the back of his cape and set him onto his feet. "Hey, are you seriously hoarding those coins? They might as well be rocks in the real world as far as we know."

"Or they could be real! You never know."

"Sure I don't," said Akira, and rebuffed him easily when the cat tried to give him some.

* * *

The way back wasn't so easy. The slot machine cashing out had attracted fervour their way, and much as Mona was thrilled to be a navigator again, they all sorely missed the Moral or Active Support Oracle usually threw their way.

"Perhaps we should have thought this through," Noir called out as Mona downed a Queen Mab with Garudyne, and they reared for an all-out attack. "My SP is getting very low!"

"Yeah, but think of the look on Crow's face." Akira winced when they did their best, and the Shadow staggered back onto its feet with hate in its eyes. "Come on, now. Behave! Brave Blade!"

"Joker, you're going to kill yourself! Diarahan!"

"Thanks, Mona!"

"No problem! Come on, we're at the finish line!"

They broke through the doors and ran back into the lobby only to discover yet another Shadow attendant blocking them from the elevator. "You weren't supposed to come back here," it said with clear disapproval. "You broke the rules. You know what that means, right?"

"Piss off and die already," said Queen.

" _Queen_ ," said Mona with shock and adoration.

(Akira agreed.)

"Ah - this is so troublesome." Noir's hat sagged askew, her feather drooping. "I'm not sure how long I can hold on."

"I'll heal you, Noir!"

"But then you won't be able to defend yourself, Mona."

"It's fine! I'll think of something."

Akira swallowed. Were they really so pinched for effort without Crow? The Shadow looked powerful. It was approaching. He thought of Arsene, then shook his head.

Energy crackled in the palm of his hands. He could do this. Just - 

"You guys should head to the safe room," he found himself saying. "I'm pretty sure I can slip past this guy and get the others to help."

"But Joker!"

"Relax, it's - "

"Oh," drawled a soft and familiar voice. "What's going on here?"

Everyone froze, Shadow included. Akira turned around to see the dealer - the cognitive version of himself - gazing at them with his arms crossed. He looked irritably soft as usual, with his crisp outfit and neutral gaze.

The gaze slid to him first, and the dealer's smile softened - then to Queen, to Noir, to Mon, and finally to the Shadow looming behind them.

"Bartholomew," he said. "You shouldn't bother our friends like this."

" _Dealer_ ," said the Shadow in a strangely deferential voice. "The Manager said we had to get rid of them if they broke the rules of her game - came back to this floor when they weren't supposed to. They shouldn't be here right now."

"What... is going on," Queen said under her breath. "Are they actually talking to each other?"

"Shh!" whispered Mona in the worst non-whisper of all time. "It might work!"

"This entire casino is designed to be broken," said the dealer. "It doesn't bother me if our guests tweak the rules to suit themselves. Does it bother you?"

"We - well - " How was the Shadow _stammering?_ "Still! I have a job to do! The Manager will be furious if she finds out I just let them pass!"

"The Manager," said the dealer, eyeing Akira, "knows our guests are going to reach the top and find her eventually. And honestly, she'll be disappointed if they don't. Just let them pass, alright? I'll take the blame if she finds out."

"I -" The Shadow glowered at them. "This is your fault if I'm in trouble!"

And stalked off, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke and into oblivion.

"Oh my," said Noir, hand to her face. "Did you just...?"

"Cognitive Joker is a hero yet again," said Mona. 

"I..." Queen looked shaken. "I have no idea why you stepped in, but thank you. It's..."

"Yeah," Akira said. "Thanks."

The dealer only held out his hands and smiled.

"We should go," Noir said. "But, ah, Joker - do you want to talk to each other? First?"

"We _really_ don't have time to waste," Queen said. "I'm sure Crow will have words for us when we're back."

"Joker?"

Akira's mouth was dry.

The dealer said, "Is there anything you want to ask me?"

"Go on," Noir said. "We'll wait inside the elevator. We won't watch."

Right. Cognitions couldn't go inside safe rooms, and wandering off with this guy was shady as hell. The others entered the elevator and studiously looked elsewhere as the glass doors closed on them.

This wasn't right.

"To tell you the truth," Akira said. "If there was a version of me I wanted to pick apart, you're not the one. Because you don't know anything about the things I want to know."

"I don't," the dealer agreed. "I'm just Sae-san's perception of me. And yet I wonder: why do you hate me so much?"

His lip curled. "I don't hate you. I just find you servile."

"Akira. Why the tough guy act, even now?" Grey eyes stared back at him in calm now that there was no longer a pretense of friendliness to keep up. "I _am_ an aspect of you seen through the eyes of another, believe it or not. Unless the person you've been to Sae-san has always been fake? Is that true?"

"Not a chance in hell," he snarled.

"Obviously. You wouldn't be here otherwise." A tilt of the head. "You care about her. You care about a lot of people, as it turns out."

"I don't want another version of me being my therapist, so you can _step off_ right now."

"If you say so. But I do want you to finish Sae-san's Palace. That's why I'm doing this."

"Why? Even though you work for her?"

"Akira, when has anyone's mind ever been truly as one?" said he. "When was the last time your mind was as one?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'm sure it's not." Another smile. "Anything else for me?"

"No." He scowled. "Look forward to never seeing you again."

"Good luck," the dealer called out with a wave as Akira stalked towards the elevator and the doors opened for him. By the time the others reacted, the thing had already vanished.

* * *

"Did he say something?" Mona looked concerned. "You looked angry out there."

Akira fixed him with a stare. "You were watching, Mona?"

"Well, yeah! I was worried about you."

"We all are," Noir said, leaning against the wall in exhaustion. "Only Panther and Oracle have encountered their own cognitions, and neither of them took it well at first - or so I'm told."

"I was there when it happened with Oracle," said Queen. "And... yes, it was unpleasant until they learned to cooperate. Mostly Oracle."

Akira forced himself to grin. "Sorry you had to see that. It's just strange, you know? Looking into a mirror and having your own reflection impersonate you... only some things are wrong, and you can't get it out of your head."

"Sounds terrible," said Noir.

"Maybe it's better off I don't have a cognition here," said Queen. "I... I'm not sure I could take it at the moment."

"Yeah," said Akira. "You're probably right."

 "Even so. What if - "

"Forget it, Queen," he said, and screwed his eyes shut.

* * *

"Congrats, champ!" Skull clapped Goro on the shoulder when he finally emerged from the hell of the arena after beating Thor. "You did great out there."

"Yeah, senpai. You rocked!"

"That was a pretty dumb move to use Ziodyne on the god of thunder, though, you have to admit," Oracle said. "The look on your face when he just drained it and regained health was _hilarious_."

"Water, Crow?"

"Without question," he rasped, and drained Fox's entire bottle. "It's fifty thousand for the prize, yes?"

"Yep! It should be on our card already. If it works automatically like that. Hey, how _does_ it work? Does it still transfer if the card's on another floor?"

He did not like where this conversation was going. "Panther, where is everyone else?"

"You see - "

"We're back!"

And Goro thought he was worn out. He didn't understand how Joker, Queen, Noir and Mona looked like they'd just dragged themselves through a marathon. "Where did you go, exactly?"

"We were wondering how to make up the rest of the total," said Queen.

"Queen suggested we try the slot machine again," said Mona helpfully.

"Well, I didn't suggest - I _wondered_ \- "

"Don't undersell yourself," said Noir. "It worked."

"We did get beat up a few times," said Joker. "But all's well that end well, right?"

Goro wanted to whack him in the face with a book. The casino was known for its trickery, how could they be so reckless -

But the entire team was looking at him for approval now, and his mind was blank.

What had he said to Akira before? What was the order he had given?

Make friends.

There had been a reason behind splitting up the Thieves, going off separately. Not only to give Goro a purported break, but to give Joker time with the others without his presence.

Had it worked?

They all had their suspicions, God they still did. But it was cruel to withhold affection on that basis without proof. Goro was railing against Nijima for that same reason right now. So -

Everyone had been through the ringer. Oracle's hair was a sweaty tangled mess. Panther's pigtails had given up on life entirely. Fox kept fanning himself, Skull used the scarf on his costume as a towel -

Noir was as pink as the shade of her blouse. Queen stood with her knees bent. Mona needed a good bath and brushing once he was in the real world.

And Joker -

Goro let out a sigh.

"You've all done great today," he said. "And in this state, we're no condition to keep fighting. So it's probably best we retire for now."

" _Oh thank God,_ " Skull said.

"And," Goro continued, "it occurs to me we haven't had a get-together in a while. So why not go to a restaurant as a reward? My treat."

" _Everyone_ ," said Oracle. "I think Crow's snapped."

"Everyone but Oracle."

"I take it back! Feed me, Crow!"

"No."

"What do people have in mind?"

"Hot pot," said Fox.

"Again? We had that when you joined the team!"

"But that was months ago - "

"I want sushi!"

"Already been there - "

"Fried chicken!"

"But it's not even Christmas yet!"

"Tempura!"

"Yakitori!"

"Barbeque!"

"Ooh, I like that idea! Which kind?"

"Japanese!"

"Korean! Crow, have you ever had kimchi?"

"No, and don't even try it - "

"Everyone, make him try it!"

* * *

Some two hours later it was late evening and the nine of them seated at a table in a Korean barbeque restaurant by the patio looking out onto the street. Haru was the self-designated Morgana feeder for the night, sneaking him the tastiest morsels of marbled beef dripping with golden fat, Yusuke and Makoto in charge of the grill, Futaba and Ryuji responsible for the flowing meat orders and bankrupting Goro's wallet, Ann there to make lettuce wraps so much more beautiful than everyone else's, Akira to dip a raw green pepper in the gochujang sauce and gnaw on it as if it was candy, and Goro to cover his nose with a napkin and try not to sneeze every time the whiff of grilled kimchi came his way.

He wasn't that sensitive to spice. Not really. Plus, kimchi was mostly sour.

Akira dipped a piece of grilled pork belly into the gochujang sauce and chewed. "Sometimes I wonder if you were raised on bread and milk your entire life."

Goro glared. "This has nothing to do with my childhood, Akira. I've always been like this."

"Yeah, leave yogurt boy alone," said Futaba, trying to keep a wrap full of rice and meat and five side dishes from spilling. "Ann, this is for you!"

"Uh, wow, thanks?" Ann gawked at the fist-sized food demon Futaba was trying to feed her. "You know wraps are supposed to be bite-sized, right?"

"So you won't eat it?" Futaba's eyes became saucer-sized, and much as Goro was too immune to her shenanigans to fall for a sentimental trick like that, Ann was _pure_ sentiment.

"Oh, fine! Give it here!"

"Futaba, could you make me one as well? Working the grill is an ordeal."

"Oh, I will, Yusuke. I _will_."

* * *

It began as such:

Futaba cramming wasabi she'd gotten from a waitress and the seeds she quietly scraped out from a green pepper into a bed of rice in a wrap, covering the evidence with a single piece of grilled beef and feeding it to Yusuke, who ate without looking and remained calm for the next five minutes until he suddenly got up and hurried to the washroom in fastidious silence.

The next victim was Ryuji. But _no_ , Ryuji had a big ole unrequited crush on Haru-senpai, and when her stomach grumbled due to attending to Morgana and not eating anything herself, he gladly offered up the wrap Futaba had given him to Haru instead, and that was when hell broke loose.

"It wasn't me!" Futaba said, as tears streamed down Haru's face after she'd eaten the wrap that was at least seventy percent heartburn and only ten percent lettuce, twenty percent rice. "I'm innocent! It was - it was - "

"It's quite alright, Futaba-chan," Haru managed after gulping down two cups of barley tea. "I know it was an accident."

"Oh yeah. Totally. Haha."

Unbeknownst to Futaba, Haru had turned her head and stared right at the one person she knew would help her without a thought: Mister Iron Stomach himself.

_Akira._

As things ostensibly returned to normal and Futaba busied herself with her phone for a bit, Akira made his move. It was fine. He was sitting at the edge of the table facing the window, Goro on the other side of him flavouring his wraps with... bean sprouts, because that was exciting. No one saw when he quietly placed half a dozen pieces of green pepper and raw garlic into the wrap meant for Futaba.

Except for Ann.

The conversation they had lasted all of ten seconds, and occurred with only facial movement, and max guts and charisma.

Ann's eyes bugged out. _Are you doing what I think you're doing, Akira?_

Akira winked. _Payback's a bitch, Panther._

Purse of the lips. _But Futaba's tiny! She'll die._

Raise of the brow. _She won't die._

Neutral mouth position. _Are you sure about that?_

Tiny grin. _Yeah, plus it'll be funny. Come on._

Flare of the nostrils. _Well, if you say so. Give it over here._

"Oh, Futaba! I have a wrap for you!"

"Really? Thanks, Ann! I knew I could count on you!"

Three sets of confused chews later, then a horrified gasp:

"This. Means. _War_."

"Bring it on!"

"Let's not get hasty - "

"Yo, senpai, I have a wrap for you."

"Oh thank you, Ryuji - wait, no! I don't want this!"

"Are you tellin' me you're gonna waste food?"

"No! But give it to someone else!"

"I have returned," said a pale Yusuke as he knelt, putting a hand on Futaba's shoulder. "And I believe I have some questions."

"O - oh, hey, Yusuke. So that was just an accident, you know?"

"So you say," he said, and began to laugh.

* * *

Later, when everyone's stomachs were full and their tongues half-burned (Morgana excluding), they sprawled back sleepily on the cushions, trying to regain an ounce of strength before the inevitable train ride home.

It was ten. Past curfew.

If Goro's phone was on at the moment, he'd know just how many - or none - messages Sakura-san had sent him. Wondering where he'd gone or what he was doing now.

Alas, it wasn't.

Akira was out on the patio. So Goro followed.

The boy turned when he emerged from the comfortable warmth of the restaurant into the dark of night, cars buzzing by only fifteen feet away in a hurry. "Hey," he said, his breath misting the rim of a green glass bottle, the label entirely in Korean. Goro saw, and scoffed.

"Soju. How did you get the owner to sell you that?"

Akira grinned. "Guess I just look old enough."

Goro stepped closer. "Or you're just a troublemaker."

"Maybe. Want to arrest me?"

A truck went blaring by, smothering his breathless laugh. "No, I - " When he could be heard again: "I'm a criminal myself. So you see."

"You're not." Akira lowered the bottle. "You're doing good in this world."

"Maybe." His belly was full, yet still his heart yearned. His skin began to prickle with goosebumps, with cold, with a need for something else. "Akira... are you getting along? With everyone?"

The boy looked back at the restaurant, and so did Goro. Futaba, now snoring with her head on Ann's lap. Makoto saying something to a chuckling Yusuke, Haru stroking Morgana as she observed them. Ryuji with a toothpick in his mouth as he was typing on his phone.

"They're nice people," Akira said. "I can see why you like them."

"Do _you_ like them, though?"

"I do." He smiled. "Did you think I'd say anything else?"

"I..." Goro felt tired all of a sudden. "When this is over with Nijima-san, you'll stay with us, won't you? For our next target?"

"For Shi - "

A taxi honked.

"Of course I will. I'm not leaving you to deal with that hot mess of a situation on your own."

"It would only be fitting," said Goro. "But... thank you."

Akira looked troubled. He swallowed. "When all _this_ is over, I'd like if we could actually date properly. What we have right now is nice, but - "

"It's not enough. I know." Goro stared at the street, grasped the railing of the patio with both hands. "I'm sorry about that."

"Hey, I get it. You're under a lot of pressure. You had a tiff with Boss, and - "

"It's not a tiff. He's upset at me. For keeping all this a secret from him. Doing Nijima-san's Palace without him knowing." He bit the inside of his cheek. "I don't want to go home tonight."

"So _don't_ ," Akira said right away. "Stay at mine."

 _Oh_. Much as he wanted to, in this state he couldn't imagine it ending well. "Do you ever get lonely?" Goro said, because he couldn't say no at the moment.

"All the time."

"How do you cope?"

"I listen to the voices in my head and tell them to shut up when they annoy me," Akira said with a grimace. "You?"

"I do the same."

"Goro?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want the rest of my soju?"

His gaze turned to the bottle Akira was holding with one hand. How he lifted it up in offering.

How it was still half-full.

"Yes," he said, and grasped it with his fingers and pressed the cool rim to his mouth. Akira didn't let go however, only tipped the bottle over gently and watched in silence as Goro drank the alcohol in one long, _bitter_ shot before he let go and gasped with tears in his eyes.

"Awful," he said, wiping his mouth. "How do you stand it?"

"Like this," Akira said, and kissed him.

He let the bottle drop and roll away from them. Goro rocked on his heels and felt Akira's lips on his, _finally_ , soft and warm and tasting still like a hint of dinner, but not too much. Forget the stupid game they'd played earlier, forget the casino and forget everything else -

The pressure was gone all too quickly, and then Akira was looking bashful and saying, "I wanted to do that. When we went out."

Goro's mouth was numb. He touched it, dazed. "So why didn't you?"

"You always seem so shy. You didn't even want to hold hands, remember?"

Oh my God. Goro considered blacking out. "I'm not _shy_ , Akira," he hissed. "I just make incredibly poor life decisions. So please, _do that again_."

"Are you serious - " said Akira, and then Goro went after him.

Lips and teeth and tongue and teenage frustration didn't make for a great second kiss, nor a third or fourth, but they were both the greedy kind, and didn't care. Akira's hair was softer than feather down, and Goro's fingers disappeared into them. The boy's nails dug into his shoulder blades, his arms, his back, his hips. It was a feeling they could both get used to.

Oh, but he really deserved this.

"Goro, you're practically gnawing on my tongue," Akira said, breaking contact with a helpless laugh. "You're not supposed to use teeth like that."

"Don't shove it right in my mouth then," he snarled. God, but why were they stopping? " _Akira, please_."

"I'm telling you, come to my place. Even if Boss doesn't want you anymore, I still do."

"Is that supposed to be romantic?" He scowled, as if he hadn't already taken the bait.

"You're not a cheap date, I know. Come here, I - "

"I am so sorry!" Ann's voice broke through their haze like a ship through the winter ice. "Senpai, Futaba says you have to go home now. Boss and Isshiki-san are waiting for you. So!"

"Fucking hell," Akira muttered. "Uh, thanks. We'll be done soon?"

"Now. Now. We're done now." Goro extracted himself, smoothed his clothes over and rubbed his face. Ann retreated, and he considered slapping himself. "I'm sorry, I can't come over. You have no idea how much I want to - "

"Yeah," Akira said, softening. "I do."

He took Goro's hands and placed one of them on his cheek. "Worst comes to worst with Boss or Sae-san and you know where to find me."

He stared. "I'm not sure the two of us cooped up in your apartment all day doing God-knows-what is going to make anything better."

"Who says it won't? In any case, I don't mean it like _that_. I mean... I like you, alright? Maybe when things calm down, it doesn't always have to be like this. We could do other things together."

"Like kiss," he said dumbly.

"Yeah. Sure." Akira snickered. "I’ll, um, see you later, okay? If Boss gets mad I'll kick his ass for you. Promise." He pecked Goro on the mouth then, and clapped hands onto his shoulders. "I'll pay the bill. You, just go home and take it easy."

"Akira - "

"Sorry, no take backs," the boy said, then let go of him and went back inside.

Goro thought about screaming, and never stopping.

Instead, he picked up the soju bottle they'd forgotten, and recycled.

* * *

"We're home!"

Futaba entered the house first, then Goro with a sleeping Morgana in his bag.

Lock the door, Goro. Take off your shoes, Goro. Step onto the genkan, put your slippers on, Goro.

Try not to think about Akira's kiss and how you'd rather be anywhere but here, Goro.

Say hello, Goro.

"Hello," he said.

"You're late," said Sakura-san. ~~Boss~~. Sakura-san.

"Yes," he said. "We were in Nijima-san's - "

"Not right now."

Futaba meeped. Goro stood still. From the stirring in his bag, Morgana had awoken.

"I think," Isshiki-san said, "we've all had a long day. And there is a lot we have to talk about. Sooner rather than later."

"Yes, ma'am." He was a child again, small and ineffectual and stupid.

"But," she continued, "for now, we're just here to drink tea and eat oranges and watch television. Together."

It was nearly midnight. They had school tomorrow, and the adults work.

And they weren't together. Not really.

Not like this.

"That... sounds like a good idea," Futaba ventured. "It's late, but uh... Goro? You into it?"

He snapped back into reality. "Of course," he said. "I just need to go and change. Can I do that?"

"Of course you can," Isshiki-san said, bewildered. "Just don't take too long."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Give me Morgana, at least," said Futaba. "Hey, uh, sorry we woke you up."

"And I was having such a good nap. What's up, Futaba - "

* * *

 **Goro** : Are you home yet?  
**Akira** : Still on the train, why?  
**Goro** : I am.  
**Goro** : I want to be with you right now.  
**Akira** : ;.;  
**Akira** : Is it that bad?  
**Goro** : No.  
**Goro** : All the same.  
**Akira** : Dummy.  
**Akira** : It's all going to be over soon.  
**Akira** : And then we'll figure out something together.  
**Akira** : You can do this.  
**Akira** : You know that, right?  
**Goro** : Of course.  
**Goro** : I can't hide for too long.  
**Goro** : They want to watch TV with me.  
**Akira** : No kidding.  
**Akira** : Why does that make you upset?  
**Goro** : Because I'd rather get it over with.  
**Akira** : Maybe it means they still care about you.  
**Akira** : Ever thought about that?  
**Goro** : Akira, I hate you.  
**Akira** : Love you too, asshole.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** I'll see you soon.  
**Akira** : Good luck.  
**Goro** : ♥  
**Akira** : ♥ you too.

* * *

"We're watching Featherman," said Futaba when he got back. "But it's a rerun. Have you seen this one before?"

Goro swallowed the lump in his throat. "I haven’t," he said, glancing at the TV, and knelt down on the floor. "What part are you at?"

"Great! So Red Eagle's been having a faith of crisis lately, and after an emotional talk with Black Falcon he goes home and..."

And so, the long night went on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Muchos gracias to @Juni_51 (ao3: swan_songs) and @SummonerxSpirit (ao3: prompto.) for helping me out with the story's direction! Without them I would probably still be flailing in plot hole hell.
> 
> And... I want to say a lot about this chapter, mostly apologetics... but I'll keep it to my twitter, lol. For now: just, thank you all for following this story and being patient with me. Goro loves you!
> 
>  **Next time** : The casino arc finally concludes, a whole lot of people cry, and many secrets come to an end. Also known as canon divergence ahoy!


	22. Steal Nijima's heart IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New bonds are formed, old bonds are strengthened, and some bonds are shattered. In other words, the Phantom Thieves reach a point of no return. What now?

**22\. Steal Nijima's heart IV**

Breakfast was laid out on the table when Goro got up the morning after. Rice. Miso soup. Natto. Nori seaweed. Raw egg. Salmon.

For him.

There was a plate for Morgana too, consisting mostly of salmon. Lucky.

Sakura-san was sitting on the couch. Perhaps he'd already eaten. He saw Goro and frowned. "Eat," he said.

"Yes, sir." He sat down. "Are Futaba and Isshiki-san still here?" They'd stayed the night.

"They went home earlier. Futaba's school things are back at their place."

School. He had school today.

Goro ate in silence. Breakfast at the Sakura house was seldom special - mostly toast and eggs and coffee, sometimes leftover curry, sometimes cereal. Sakura-san knew how to cook, and now so did Goro - but a traditional breakfast like this was rare.

He wondered what it meant.

When he drank the last of his miso soup and laid down his chopsticks, Sakura-san got up. "We should talk."

"We talked last night." After Featherman, Isshiki-san had turned off the TV and rubbed her temples, and the four of them talked for nearly an hour.

Well. The adults talked. Futaba was quiet, and Goro spoke only when addressed. His tongue, once his greatest ally, had become an enemy. It said too much about him.

Before Sensei had come to the boys' home and let him know that words meant well and could be used for pleasure and for sport, Goro had always been a quiet child. It would shock his friends now, who were used to his chattering, his seemingly endless penchant for public speaking - anyone who could be Crow wasn't _timid_   - but once upon a time, he used to be the kind of person who never said anything at all.

Sakura-san sighed, and Goro's thoughts drifted back into the present. The man said, "I want to apologize for losing my temper the other day. That was... childish of me."

"Childish," Goro repeated.

A grimace. "Some part of me is still angry - but in the end, you're eighteen and I'm fifty. I'm _your_ guardian, and if you've gone wild under my roof, then what does that say about _me?_ "

Oh no. "Don't blame yourself," Goro said, distress rising in his chest like a bad ache, a churning wave. "None of this is your fault."

"Maybe not. But I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm sorry," he said, and Goro blinked away the small tears that had sprouted from his eyes like saplings.

"I - " He swallowed. "I'm sorry too. For not trusting you."

Sakura-san scoffed. "Trust is a funny thing," he said in a hoarse voice. "You can ask for it, or you can earn it. What have I been doing the past year?"

"You've always been very reliable." The man laughed. "It's true."

"Yeah, I feed you and gave you my old yukata that one time. What a great person I am."

"I mean - " Goro hesitated, steamrolled on. "You're the closest I have to an actual father figure in my life. So."

So.

"Oh," said Sakura-san.

He could say more. But he didn't trust himself at the moment not to ruin it.

Perhaps neither did Sakura-san, because all he did next was walk forward and put his arms around Goro in a strange facsimile of a hug.

"It'll be over soon, kid," the man said, his heartbeat pressed against Goro's ear, his fear. "Just hold on until then."

"I know," he whispered, and wished he could believe the same.

* * *

"Did you make up with Boss?" Morgana said after, when they were waiting for their train.

"I think so," Goro said, stroking his fur. "He mostly feels sorry for me now."

"Breakfast was good," the cat added. "I ate so much salmon I thought I was going to get mercury poisoning!"

"We can't have that. After all, this team needs you."

_I need you._

* * *

**Akira:** What are you up to?  
**Goro:** Lunch with Haru. You?  
**Akira:** The gardening duo! Love it.  
**Akira:** Believe it or not, Yusuke and Futaba are trying to make me a part of their lunch special now.  
**Akira:** Alongside 2A's goddess of beauty, Togo Hifumi.  
**Akira:** I seriously can't believe you all know each other.  
**Goro:** I'm more interested in the fact that you're on first name basis now.  
**Akira:** (￣ω￣)  
**Akira:** You got me.  
**Akira:** Turns out suffering the same wasabi-induced hell together brings people closer.  
**Goro:** Ridiculous. I'm sure you're the only one of us who enjoyed eating those monstrosities last night.  
**Akira:** You think anything spicier than chocolate milk is a monstrosity.  
**Goro:** Keep making fun of my palate at your own peril, Akira.  
**Akira:** Oh, I will.  
**Goro:** I'm turning off my phone now.  
**Akira:** WAIT  
**Akira:** How's everything at home?  
**Goro:** Better.  
**Akira** : That's good.  
**Goro:** Boss cares about me. I need to remember that.  
**Akira:** You're calling him Boss again! That's progress!  
**Goro:** You're too much.  
**Akira:** In a good way?  
**Goro:** Yes.  
**Goro:** I'm starting to believe you're out of my league.  
**Akira:** LMAO  
**Goro:** I'm serious!  
**Akira:** I know.  
**Akira:** Would you believe me if I've thought the same about you?  
**Goro:** Yes.  
**Goro:** No.  
**Goro:**  Never mind.  
**Akira:** You're such a Gemini.  
**Goro:** I'm going now.  
**Akira:** Have fun ♥  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** Take care, Akira.  
**Goro:** ♥

* * *

"You're smiling," Haru said when he put his phone away.

"I'm not," Goro said.

"Now you're blushing," she teased.

He touched his cheek, only to find it cool from the autumn wind. They were on the rooftop yet again, them and the tomatoes and carrots. " _Haru_."

"Goro." She laughed. "Why so shy now? Is being in a relationship so strange and new to you?"

"Of course." He took a sip from his water bottle. "I'm only eighteen, how many dalliances do you think I've had before?"

"Hmm..."

"None," he interjected before she could batter his dignity further. "I've had none. Akira is my first."

"First...?"

"First relationship."  
  
"But not kiss...?"

He couldn't possibly tell her about Yusuke and live another day. "I will not be commenting further on the situation, Okumura-san."

"Oh, very well," she said with rosy cheeks. "You come off so put together, Goro, I never imagined something like this would fluster you."

"Blame my inexperience."

"I won't. At least you're having fun."

Right. "Your father still isn't getting better?"

She folded her hands in her lap. "He's talking more as the days go by. But whenever I speak to him he thinks I'm the housekeeper, or my mother. He never sees me as myself."

If that didn’t explain the relationship between the Okumura patriarch and his heir, then nothing did. "I'm sorry. We did his Palace for you - " Only half-true, the Phansite had been gunning for Okumura Kunikazu for weeks beforehand. " - but so far, it hasn't benefited you at all."

"That's not true." Her eyes curved in a half-moon. "I have more time to myself now. I could never have become a Phantom Thief if Father was still his normal self. That's worth any treasure, I think."

"It’s fun having Makoto spend the night over, isn’t it?"

He wanted to see her stammer, turn as peachy as the shade of her hair. But Haru just giggled. "Yes!"

"You like her."

"I do."

"Does Makoto know that?"

"Sometimes I think so. And sometimes not."

Dear God. "Why haven't you told her?"

"Sugimura-san." Haru bit her lip. "It would be unfair. When Father is better, I'll ask him to break our engagement, but until then..." She let out a breath. "I have to be patient."

Goro smiled. "Still battering away at your cage for now, hm?"

"Unfortunately." She gazed upward. "But one day I'll twist the bars until they can no longer hold me - or anyone else - back."

Three months ago, this girl would have never dared say that aloud.

Three years ago, neither would he.

"So spake Noir," he agreed, and saw her eyes glimmer in relief.

"So spake I," Haru murmured, and began to whistle.

* * *

"Thank you for indulging my whim today, Akira."

"No problem," Akira said, hands in his pockets as Yusuke led him through the crowded Shibuya Underground Mall to the Rafflesia flower shop. "Looking to get a bouquet for someone?"

"Not quite." The boy smiled. "I've decided to start a series of still life paintings based on flowers, and I need to gather the appropriate materials."

"And you wanted me to help you pick some out?"

"I want you to help me carry them back to the dorm."

"Oh."

"But if you have suggestions," he added, "I would be glad to hear them."

Akira snorted. "Yeah, sure." He looked at the selection on hand. "What are you looking for?" The offerings weren't exactly what he used to work with during ikebana lessons, but they were bright and fresh and colourful. What more did a painter need for inspiration?

"A dozen of everything would be nice."

"A dozen of every...? Just _how_ many paintings are you planning to make?"

"That depends on how much they sell for."

"You're selling them? But doesn't Goro - " Yusuke fixed him with intense dark eyes. " - pay for you?"

Somewhere, a pin dropped.

"Yes, he does," said the boy. "But that's not exactly becoming, is it? Considering - "

_God, don't say it._

" - how busy he is nowadays. Also, I do have hands of my own. I should put them to work on occasion."

Uh huh. "I've seen some of your works online," Akira said.

"You have?" A spot of colour blossomed on Yusuke's pale cheek. "What did you think?"

"I'm not much of an artist. But I like them. They're wild. Vivid. Aggressive. I can feel your pent-up stress in every brushstroke." A chuckle. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all. You're right, of course. A lot of my paintings derive from personal experience, and for a long time, stress was my primary emotion when I painted."

"Back when you were living with Madarame?"

"Well." The boy straightened. "Sensei had a place of his own, as it turned out. One more suited to his tastes. But yes."

He turned to study a row devoted entirely to lilies.

Akira should let it go. He really should.

But he just stepped closer and said, "Sae-san used to work his case."

"I know." Yusuke gave him a side glance. "I'm sorry she was never able to bring him to trial."

"What the hell are _you_ sorry for?" he said, unable to help himself. "Everyone else should be grovelling at your feet. Madarame for being a piece of shit and the people who ignored his abuse because they benefited from it and - "

"Akira," Yusuke said.

Akira stopped.

"Thank you," he said gently. "That means a lot. To hear the Third Eye himself say that about my former situation."

Akira hadn't been the Third Eye for a while now. His TV appearances had dwindled to nothing since the end of summer break, and Sae-san closed herself off from him. He hadn’t taken any requests either. It was a good thing Mementos was a better part-time gig than anything else. He had to get the rent money somehow, and his family wasn’t paying.

~~How far you’ve fallen, Ren.~~

"I met him once, you know," he found himself saying. "Madarame."

" _Really_ ," Yusuke said. "When?"

Akira shrugged. "It was some party for a TV event. I was the guest of some broadcast station, and Madarame... I don't know why he was there, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. He was schmoozing like a celeb."

"I see."

"Someone introduced us. And he looked at me down and told me to focus on my studies. That kids like me shouldn't be trying to make a name for myself so early in life, and I was better off listening to my parents."

A laugh escaped Yusuke, light and detached. "That does sound like Sensei, yes. But it bears a different meaning now that we all know his true nature, doesn't it?"

_You have no idea._

_I knew even then something was off about him._

_After all, I looked him up in the Nav App._

~~_And paid him a visit._ ~~

"It's a pity," Akira said. "Now he'll never pay for what he did."

"Many things in life are a pity. But it doesn't distress me as it did, once."

"How can it not?"

"I have other things to look forward to." The boy tucked hair behind his ear. "My friends. A future I can shape myself. This brand of justice we call our own." He gave Akira a small smile. "Is it the same for you?"

He thought about telling Yusuke the truth.

~~What good would it serve?~~

(Be happy, Akira. Be happy. You've found a place for yourself.

You're a Phantom Thief now. Isn't that something to be proud of?)

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, it is."

"Good," said Kitagawa Yusuke. "That's just what I wanted to hear."

* * *

Later, when they were back at Kosei and the two of them weighed down with half a dozen paper bags full of flowers each, Yusuke flipped the switch on in his dorm room and said magnanimously, "Please, put them down here."

"Sure," panted Akira, kicking his shoes off at the genkan and dragging his packages into the room. "Let me just - "

He saw, and stopped.

Yusuke's room was small and mostly bare, save for a few cardboard boxes and bottles of paint here and there, a few splotches on the wooden floor, a metal stool, and a rolled up futon in the corner. The walls were papered over with black-and-white sketches, a few completed paintings of landscapes in wild colours -

And propped up against the window lay an enormous stylized painting of Goro, staring at the viewer with a sly smile and two bright, ruby red eyes, one peeking through his fingers.

"Oh," he said. "You made that, huh?"

Yusuke followed his gaze. "I did. What do you think of it?"

Akira gnawed on his tongue. "I don't want to make this awkward for you."

"It's not awkward. I don't begrudge you your feelings."

"Thanks," he said in a strangled voice.

"Nor Goro his." The boy closed his eyes. "Even if we haven't had the time to see each other as much lately, he's never been anything but kind to me.

"I keep wondering if I ought to gift him this. Whether he would enjoy it. It's hardly something I could sell without ever being unable to forgive myself for, don't you think?"

"Well - " Akira tried to regain his composure. "I'll take it if he won't."

Yusuke stifled a grin. "That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid it belongs only to Goro or I."

Alas _._ "I think he'd appreciate it," he ventured. "He's always liked you more. So there's no way he'd say no to a painting of yours."

"Now I'm sure that's not true."

"Not like _that._ I mean... he cares about you. A lot. Before, I was jealous."

Yusuke looked thunderstruck. "Whatever for?"

"He was always saying Yusuke this and Yusuke that when we were together. To be honest it was pretty annoying. I didn't get it."

"Am I still annoying?" the boy asked dryly. "Be honest."

Akira shook his head. "No. You're pretty cool, Fox."

"... you're not so bad yourself, Joker. Thank you."

_Joy_ , Arsene whispered. And another voice in Akira's mind:

_He does not know. He must never know._

* * *

"Good evening, Nijima-san," said Goro.

"Akechi." The woman was cool. "Makoto, you better had have a good reason for calling me out here in the middle of work."

"I did," Makoto said tersely. "Just... sit down, please."

Here was Leblanc, closed early for the day. In a booth: one reluctant Nijima Sae, an anxious Nijima Makoto by her side. Across the Nijimas: one Isshiki Wakaba, calm. Behind the counter: one Sojiro Sakura, holding onto a rag for dear life. And sitting on a stool: one Akechi Goro post-three cups of Brazilian Bourbon for nerves and good luck.

"Good. We're all here," said Isshiki-san, glancing at Goro briefly before setting her gaze back to the one who mattered. "Nijima-san, we have a proposal for you."

" _We_ ," said she. "So you know about Akechi and his friends."

"As their identities as the Phantom Thieves? Yes."

Makoto pursed her lips tight. Goro dug nails into his arms, wishing he had gloves on so no one could see how pink his hands were.

"Akechi," Nijima said. "Have you come to tell me the Thieves are disbanding and you'll be turning yourself into the police for questioning?"

Goro said nothing.

"Akechi has deferred his authority of the situation onto me and his guardian," said Isshiki-san. "As it should have been from the beginning. I'd prefer you spoke to me from now on, Nijima-san."

Nijima narrowed her eyes. "All this would have been resolved weeks ago if you had only been honest with me, Isshiki-san. If you had told me the truth behind that bizarre camera footage of you - "

"Yes, forgive me the lack of disclosure if you will," said Isshiki-san. "I didn't think I could trust you then to believe me."

Nijima looked doubtful. "But you trust me now?"

"No. But at the moment, we have no choice, or poor Akechi here is going to jail, and we can't have that."

Makoto stiffened, and if Futaba was here and not quarantined back at her apartment with Morgana (she was probably eavesdropping in regardless) she would have cried out in his defense.

It ached. But Isshiki-san was performing. Like he was always performing.

By now, shouldn't he recognize the talent in another?

"Tell me, Nijima-san," said Isshiki Wakaba, hands laced together on the table. "What do you know about the Metaverse and Shido Masayoshi?"

* * *

Nijima Sae went home after, and so did Makoto. The girl darted a worried look at Goro before she left and he made an effort to smile at her before she disappeared into the Yongen night.

_Clink_ went a porcelain cup as it slid towards him. Goro jolted, and saw Boss looking at him in concern.

"One last cup for the road," the man said.

"Caffeine this late at night, Sojiro?" Isshiki-san said, amused. "You should know better. Akechi's still growing, after all."

"Of course he is. And Blue Mountain for you?"

"Kona this time. I feel peckish."

"Coming right up."

Goro accepted his cup with both hands, sipped until the heat flooded his mouth and warmed his fingers. Isshiki-san slipped onto the stool next to his, and tapped the counter with a finger.

"Easier on the sidelines, isn't it?" she said, and he nodded.

"Thank you. It probably would have gone worse if I'd tried that."

"You're just a kid, Akechi." When he shifted. "Yes, I know you don't like me saying that. It irritates you, and considering all you've accomplished, it sounds ridiculous. You are... disturbingly responsible for your age, occasional mistake aside. But what you're doing right now?" He nodded again. "Coming to me and Sojiro for help? Letting us handle this is the smartest thing you've done since you first got into this mess."

He swallowed. "It's still our plan. For better or for worse. Asking Nijima-san to go after Shido instead of us after we get her a confession - you saw her face at the end. What if she says no? What if she decides to arrest all of us?"

"What if, huh," Boss muttered. "Guess there are no defense lawyers in your world, kid."

"Or nosy journalists," said Isshiki-san. "Or former PSIA agents."

"Hey! Don't tell him that."

"What...?" Goro looked at him, astonished. "Boss, you're an ex-spy?"

"No," said Boss.

"Yes," said Isshiki-san. "He was a cold-blooded killer when we first met."

" _Wakaba_." Getting splotchy in the face. "I did nothing of the sort. I handled information."

"Gossip, in other words. Akechi, the point of all this is that... you have your methods, and we have our own." She smiled. "You _are_ allowed to rely on us, you know."

He hadn't.

"Thank you," was all he could say again. "You didn't have to do this."

"Didn't we?" Boss exclaimed. "Kid, did you think we'd let you drown by yourself?"

"Never," said Isshiki-san, gaze softening. "Besides, Futaba's never had it better since you came into our lives. You're like a brother to her."

"Oh." Goro wasn't red, not really. "I care about her too."

"And we care about you," said Isshiki-san. "Now go home and get some sleep already."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, and coloured when she reached over and ruffled his hair.

* * *

"I could show you the Metaverse," Makoto offered when they got home. "The entrance to Mementos is at Shibuya Station. We could go there tomorrow - "

"Forget it, Makoto," said Sae. "I'm tired."

And went into her bedroom, and locked the door for the night.

It was past midnight. Makoto stood in the living room and was alone.

She felt as Goro had looked during the conversation Sae had had with Isshiki-san earlier, the open worry and stress on his face barely covered up by the hand on his mouth. He hadn't been able to keep his cool, and neither had she, frozen at Sae's side, her fingers buried into her thighs.

When would this end?

* * *

  _The day of truth nears. What will you do, child?_

_You must have faith. Faith in your friends, who have never steered you false yet._

_That's because they don't know the truth about me._

_So tell them._

_No! It will tear you asunder. Keep safe. You must keep safe._

_A path walked alone is a path you must always keep on guard for. Whatever will you do?_

_I don't know, I don't know -_

_The deadline nears -_

_The day of truth nears -_

_You must keep safe, you must keep safe -_

_Shut up!_

_I know already, alright?_

_I know it's coming._

_I have to believe in them._

_I have to believe she's still worth saving._

_I have to believe in myself._

Silence, for a long time. Then, a soft and chiding voice:

_You cannot do this alone, child. You must let someone in._

_I know, I know. But who?_

_You know._

_Tell him._

_He'll understand._

_After all, he is just like you._

And then, the blessed calm of sleep.

* * *

"You made it," said the Manager, when they'd climbed up the stairs of scales and entered a brilliant, lavishly decorated lounge overlooking the rest of the casino. "Congratulations."

"We did," said Queen. "Now, are you going to listen to us or else?"

"I prefer _or else_." The Shadow smiled. "Come, play a game with me."

"Seriously? More games?"

"Don't be melodramatic. I merely want to test your hand at draw poker. Who among you will rise to the occasion?"

"Uh," said Mona.

"Uhhh," said Oracle.

"I'll do it - " began Queen.

"I volunteer," said Joker, stepping forward.

"Joker! Do you even know how to play?"

"I do now," he said, and smiled. "Let's roll, Sae-san."

Queen's expression was tight at the interruption, but Joker had already put his hands on the poker table and now leaned over it as if he owned it. It was a strikingly arrogant gesture.

Goro tried not to find it as attractive as he did.

Clearing his throat, he said, "Good luck, Joker."

"Luck is my middle name."

"Let us begin," said the Manager, and laughed.

The rules were simple: the match would be based solely on the hands drawn by both players, and the Manager would admit defeat if Joker won against her once. Somehow Goro didn't think it would be that easy, but as he and the Thieves clustered around their man, they'd figure it out as they always did.

Then the dealer stepped forward.

" _This_ guy again?" said Skull. "Why do we keep running into him?"

The cognitive Akira said, "I'm here to do my job. That's all."

"I'm sure you are," Joker drawled with contempt, and sat down. The dealer placed five cards down in front of both players, and as Joker lifted his cards up to see what he was working with, the Thieves clamoured on all sides of him.

" _Nice_ ," said Oracle.

"Solid numbers," murmured Fox. "Will you keep everything as is?"

"Well..." the boy said with a pretense of modesty as he glanced at Goro. "What do you think?"

"Luck is your middle name. Have some faith in yourself."

A laugh. "Yeah? And what's yours, Crow?"

"Misfortune," Goro said without even thinking.

A lip curl. "I'll keep the hand, then. You, Sae-san?"

She elected to change them.

Call.

Straight flush versus four of a kind. Discard. Redraw. Call. Full house versus two pairs. Discard. Redraw. Call. Straight versus no pair. Discard. Redraw. Call. Four of a kind versus flush. Discard. Redraw. Call - discard. Redraw - discard - discard -

"I'm going for a walk." 

"Crow, you're not going to watch?" Queen said incredulously.

"No need. I have a feeling how this is going to end."

" _Wow_ ," said Oracle. "Haven't been together for three days and he's already sandbagging you."

"Good thing I can take it," said Joker, which made her choke.

Meanwhile, Goro looked around.

There were other tables around apart from the Manager's, slot machines here and there - it was a microcosm of the larger casino, and as he stretched his legs around the grand room, he found what he was looking for.

A deck of cards. Time to make his own luck.

He returned to the table and found his old place again with a demurred, "Excuse me, Panther," and the promise of an explanation later in his eyes.

Panther got out of the way.

With every lost hand the look on Joker's face had grown less and less amused, especially when Skull muttered, "We've seen _this_ before, haven't we?"

"Perhaps," said Noir, standing beside Fox. "But as before, I'm sure we'll be surprised by what happens next."

She gave Goro a smile, and he wondered: _does she know already?_

"Not doing so well, are you," he murmured, pitching his voice next to Joker's ear. "What happened to that luck of yours?"

"Maybe it just ran out," he said noncommittally, looking straight ahead as the dealer shuffled the deck serenely with his eyes closed.

"Pity," said Goro, and bent low, slinging an arm around Joker's chair to steady himself. "Let me make it up to you, then."

And when the boy turned to face him with a question on his lips, Goro kissed him.

He also squeezed his hand beneath the table and passed him a little something, but that was neither here nor there.

For almost half a minute, the only sound made was the single _tsk_ of disbelief made by the Manager as she sneered at their display from over the top of her cards.

Then the dealer chuckled.

Then Oracle said, "You’re grounded, mister!"

"Yeah! What the hell was that!"

"That's love, Skull," said Panther, adding in a lower voice, "Not that you'd know anything about it."

"Say that again?"

"Is this really the time?" said Queen, flush as red as the colour on Joker's face.

"Yeah," the boy managed. "I mean, not that I mind, but - "

"No, you're right." Goro straightened up, put on a face of injured innocence. "I got carried away. It'll never happen again."

"Somehow I think Crow says that quite often," said Noir in good humour, and after a disjointed pause Fox jerked back into motion and said:

"It seems so, yes."

"Have you all forgotten we're still playing a game here?!" barked out Mona. "Focus, Joker! Crow, stop distracting him!"

"Yeah, distract Mona instead," Oracle drawled.

"You know what? I think I will."

"Oh my God." Queen deflated. "Joker, please... just keep trying."

"Ri - right."

"Hey!" Mona cried out, when Goro slipped over to his side and picked him up. "What happened to personal space?"

The dealer gave them a quick glance, then returned to his cards fighting a smile. Joker must have seen it too, for his voice went dull again as he said, "Full house," only to lose to the Manager's straight flush.

Discard. Redraw. Call.

"We're good friends, aren't we, Mona?" Goro said companionably.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you even bathe me sometimes. Wait, I didn't say that."

"Mona needs _bathing?_ " said Oracle.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom too?"

"Beat it, Skull!"

"The point is," Goro said. "I'm very glad to have you in my life. Without you, the Phantom Thieves would never have gone anywhere. We wouldn't exist."

"Literally," said Panther. "It's funny if you think about it, but Mona's the one who told us about the change of hearts, right? What if Crow and Skull had never found him in the beginning? Where would we be now?"

"Expelled," said Skull. "Easily."

"Not to mention - " Good, she kept going. "Kamoshida? What would we have done with him?"

"Premature bad end, hello," muttered Oracle. "Thank you, Mona. Our living strategy guide."

"I never thought about it like that," he said, mollified. "It's true, huh? I did that. I helped you guys out!"

"As you continue to," said Fox. "Someday I'd like to know how you discovered the change of hearts yourself."

"It's funny, but I feel like I was born with the knowledge. Like it was just a part of me, and - "

Goro said, "I'd like to be the dealer, if I may." When the Manager turned her gaze to him, suspicious: "I think a change in scenery is just what we need at the moment. Don't you agree?"

"You calling yourself scenery there, bud?"

"Very well," the Shadow said after a moment, and the dealer stepped back with a bow and a smile. "But you'll have to use my deck - not the one up your sleeve."

"Huh?" said Panther. "Senpai, don't tell me..."

"Oops," Goro said, tugging the deck out from its hiding place and casting it aside. "My bad."

"Crow! You've become a real career criminal, you know?"

Oh, he knew.

As he took the dealer's place, he said offhandedly, "Are we allowed to switch players?"

"Certainly," said the Manager. "Not that it'll do you any good."

"Then I'll do it!" Mona proclaimed. "Joker, help me up!"

"Roger that."

Goro shuffled the deck.

"Ah," said Fox. "I remember when it was an ordeal for Crow to make enough lockpicks on time. Now, this. Your proficiency has improved considerably over the months."

Oracle sniggered.

Five cards down. The Manager looked at hers, and smiled. "I think it's time we ended this rigmarole, no? Four of a kind."

"Well, you're right about one thing," Mona said. "Royal flush! Take that!"

"What? But how did you...?" Her lips set in a cold line. " _You._ What did you do?"

"Oops," Goro said again. "You really should have explained the rules more clearly, not that it matters. You'd never have let us win fair and square. So."

"So," said Mona. "I dumped my bad cards when you weren't looking and Joker gave me the set he was holding."

"Set? But how did Joker get them?"

"The kiss," Noir said with a laugh. "I had a feeling you were up to something crafty, Crow."

"I'm guessing the deck up your sleeve was misdirection, too," Queen said.

"So all that was for show?" Panther said. "You go, cheating hottie!"

" _What_ was that, Panther?"

"A compliment." Goro smiled.

"Not a bad plan," Joker said. "Though I wish you'd let me win for once."

"You've already won Crow's heart, Joker," said Mona, which made the boy splutter.

"Enough," said the Manager. "This game is invalid."

"Big whoop, lady! You were cheating the whole time, now you wanna get mad we turned the tables on you? Tough luck!" Sparks of light jolted out from the tips of Skull's fingers. "Wanna take it outside?"

" _Gladly_."

"No," said Goro. "We came for your Treasure. That's all we want."

"Right," said Noir. "We won't be able to change her heart if we don't send the calling card and the Treasure doesn't manifest."

“We’d just end up killing her,” Oracle said.

Queen grimaced. “Just… show us where it is, Sis.”

Instead, the Manager got up and walked away, and vanished.

"What the hell! Get back here - "

"It's through the doors over there," the dealer said.

Goro followed his gaze to a set of gilded French doors. "The Treasure," he echoed, and the dealer nodded.

"This is ridiculous," Queen snarled. "Why are you helping us? Why aren't you turning into a monster and _fighting_ us?"

"Why indeed," Goro said.

The dealer collected his hands. "Who knows?" he said in his milquetoast voice.

"Nah," said Oracle. "I get it."

"Care to explain?"

"I've been thinking about it myself." She adjusted her goggles. "Take the cognition of me in Mom's Palace. Why did _that_ Futaba try to help us, even though she was my mom's perception and not mine? Technically she should have been trying to keep us out, not help us get in."

"It doesn't make sense, does it? Unless - "

"Your mother knew you didn't like the person she was," Fox said. "That must have flavoured how she saw you."

"Yeah," Oracle said, in a lower voice. "It did."

"That sense of doubt - division - could have created a gulf in priority in between your mother's Shadow and the cognitive Futaba. I believe the same applies here."

"You're helping us," Joker said to his cognition. "Because Sae-san already believed I was helping the Phantom Thieves." His lip curled. "That I was one of them from the beginning. Right?"

"Something like," said the dealer. "I hope that doesn't offend you."

'Why would it - " Joker shook his head. "It's fine."

"It's more than fine," said Panther. "The dealer's helped us out more than once, right? So..." Her face softened. "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure, Phantom Thieves," he said, and bowed out.

* * *

So.

The Treasure.

The calling card.

Now what?

"It usually falls to the newest person to write the calling card," said Queen. "But considering the circumstances, I'd like to. If I may."

"No objections," said Joker. "I don't think I could write as flowery as you've done, in any case."

"Blame Skull," Panther said with a wink. "He's the one who got us rolling to begin with."

"That's right." Goro smiled. "Now then, are we good to go?"

"One sec." Oracle raised a hand. "We have four days left. When are we sending this in?"

"Nijima-san hasn't said anything yet, has she?" said Noir, and Queen shrugged.

"If the worst comes to worst," said Fox, looking at Joker intently. "We will have to follow through with our original plan. Are you ready for that?"

After a delayed silence, Joker said, "Yeah, I am."

"Until then," Goro told everyone. "It's back to the usual grind."

"Somehow I don't think I can just go back to studying for exams," said Skull.

"We have to," said Queen. "There's no other choice."

"Don't worry," Noir said. "Nijima-san is only one person. My father's lawyers will help us if we need them."

"Let's hope we don't, then," said Mona, and nervous laughter swept through the Thieves.

Everyone but Goro, and Joker.

* * *

"Can I bother you?" he asked later, when the group had gone their separate ways, Morgana with Ann for the night.

"Sure," Akira said, hands in his jeans pocket. He wasn't wearing the Third Eye jacket anymore, nor the tacky messenger bag. Maybe he had outgrown it. Maybe it no longer fit.

Maybe Joker could only flourish in the Third Eye's absence, and vice versa. Goro hoped they weren't keeping him from anything else in his life.

Even if he didn't seem to have anyone else to share it with.

"Where do you want to go?" 

"I was thinking Leblanc. But it's not closed yet." They hadn't fought at all today, and it was only the late afternoon. For once, he felt restless. "Are you hungry?"

"Lunch was only a few hours ago," Akira said, lips quirking upward. "Are we going on another date now?"

"Do you want to?"

It came out more plaintive than Goro wanted, and he wondered why the moment he took off Crow's mask he lost that confidence, that edge. Nowadays Crow was the only stable thing in his life, and Goro was weighed down by an army of problems calling themselves Nijima and Boss and Makoto and Akira and himself.

Crow could kiss Joker in front of their entire group of friends and an enemy. Goro... couldn't.

Akira's gaze widened. “Hey. I'm just teasing. It doesn't have to be so serious all the time."

"I'm... trying not to be. Sorry."

"Don't be." He tilted his head. "I like that about you, actually."

Goro's breath misted over his lips. "That I'm a tryhard?"

"That you _try_. It's admirable."

"I'm not - " A flush crept up his ears. _Take the damn compliment._ "Thank you."

The boy held out his arm. "Let's take a walk."

This wasn't fair. Goro was the one who ought to be picking at him, figuring out why he seemed off-balance lately. Not the other way around. For how much they had gotten closer lately, the thought of Akira probing him - knowing more about him than he knew himself - disturbed him.

But then, turnabout was fair play, right? Otherwise this wasn't a relationship. Just a dance of lies by omission, guilt by association.

Foolishly, he wondered if Akira had Confidants. The boy represented Justice to him - so said Mifune-san, so said the twins, so said his heart. What about him? What did he represent to Akira? Did he view Goro through the lens of Justice too, or something else entirely?

He could only pray it wasn't a one-sided affair.

* * *

Inokashira Park was quiet this time of year, people bundled up in coats and scarves that grew thicker by the day. Goro wasn't that cold in his school turtleneck and blazer, but the zipper of Akira's grey hoodie only went up to his collarbones, and he didn't look to wear anything warm underneath.

There was a food truck nearby, and Goro bought two savoury crepes. Akira eyed his with interest, bacon and cheese and spinach and tomatoes in a checkered parchment wrapping. He bit into it and said, muffled, "You got me egg too? You shouldn't have."

Goro sat down on the bench besides him. His own was a mix of beef and mushrooms and sautéed onions with white cheese, warm and salty-sweet and comforting. "Only the best for you," he said. The words sounded discordant even to his own ears. He tried not to wince. Emphasis: tried.

Maybe Akira noticed. Maybe he didn't. He only said, "You flirt," and they ate in silence.

How to do this. How to begin.

In the end, Akira was the one who said, "What's up? Is something wrong?"

Goro licked at the mayonnaise on his finger. "I'm just glad you're a part of the team, Akira."

The boy stared in surprise - then his brows lowered and pale face warmed. "If you'd told me who you were from the beginning," he said gently. "We could have had a lot more fun."

"I didn't," Goro said, because it was the truth.

"Yeah." Akira wiped a crumb from his mouth. "And I didn't tell you. But in retrospective, you must have figured me out pretty early. When did you realise?"

Apart from the slip at the TV station that sent everything into motion? "Makoto had suspicions. How you solved your cases seemed a lot like ours."

Akira looked contemplative. "She really doesn't like me, yeah? You don't have to deny it. I don't have to be friends with everyone in your group."

"She's... struggling at the moment." He didn't know how to elaborate without selling her out.

"So are you," Akira said.

"And you," Goro said.

"Yeah," Akira said, and ducked his head. "But you've got enough on your plate - "

"Tell me. Please."

"You'd hate me if you knew."

"I wouldn't. No more than I already hate myself - "

" _Goro_ ," Akira said, colour on his face, the imprint of teeth on his lower lip. "What do you want me to say? Really." He sounded almost pleading. "I really don't like what you're doing right now. You want something from me, but you won't ask me outright, and I - " He laughed, slightly hysterical. "I try, but I'm not a psychic. I can only work with what you give me."

And vice versa. Right?

Goro's lips were numb. So were his hands, and the part of him that made sense. He said, "Tell me about your time in juvenile detention. Please."

He knew from the moment Akira's whole body jolted in shock and his mouth twisted that he'd lost him. " _We're in fucking public, Goro,_ " the boy hissed, hands white-knuckled at his sides.

"I know. But - "

"No." Akira got up. "It's a lot nicer being with you when you're not constantly poking into my past, you know? Especially when I know you're only telling me about yourself so I'll open up about something that makes me sound fucked-up and weak. It's okay to just be _people_ sometimes. You don't have to dissect me to figure out who I really am. Trust me, it's not going to make you feel better if you find out."

"Sorry, but are you Kurusu-kun?"

They froze. A girl with a bob cut and a sailor uniform was hovering only a few feet away, her flip phone with the hanging red-and-black charm already out. The promise of a photo in her hopeful smile, her large brown eyes.

"Yes," Goro said.

"No," Akira said, and stalked off.

"Akira! Don't - " Fuck, fuck. He'd botched this, hadn't he?

The girl watched Akira leave with a puzzled frown. "Sorry... was that Kurusu-kun? He looked so similar, I..."

"No, no." Goro got up, smoothed over his legs. "He gets that a lot. So - "

"It's alright." She put her phone away. "I won't tell anyone. It's been a while since he's been on TV. I thought something had gone wrong."

"Wrong?" The laugh came out of him unprovoked and sudden and ugly. "Akira's not an idol. You don't have to worry about him."

"I don't," the girl said. "But I do anyway. Is that okay?" She hesitated. "Are you his friend?"

"I - " His face was burning up. "I - "

"I'm sorry if I upset him."

"It was me," Goro said. "I did it.

"And... thank you," he added, because it was clear she was fourteen or fifteen at most, and didn't deserve a stranger dumping his emotional troubles onto her when all she'd wanted was a photo with her favourite celebrity. "For caring."

"Oh!" She cheered up, dug into her schoolbag. "Can you give him this then? I wanted to thank him for everything he's done. People are always so mean to him online, and I wanted him to know he's not alone."

It was a deep red envelope, the front titled unbelievably: _to Detective Kurusu, from Sashihara Ami_. Goro took it. It felt sturdy. Made of good quality paper. The writing in calligraphy.

"I'll let him know," he said blankly. "I promise."

"Thank you," said Sashihara with a smile. "I'm his biggest fan."

* * *

~~_Nijima Sae, your path in darkness will now meets its end -_ ~~

~~_Prosecutor Nijima, you have betrayed your principles and acted in selfishness and deceit -_ ~~

~~_We the Phantom Thieves will overthrow your rigged game, Nijima Sae, and -_ ~~

No good. None of it. Makoto shredded the evidence before disposing of it in the recycling, then staggered into bed and buried her face in a pillow.

* * *

**Goro** : I'm sorry about earlier.  
**Goro** : I shouldn't have asked you that in public.  
**Goro** : Or probably never.  
**Goro** : The girl who interrupted us is a fan of yours.  
**Goro** : She wanted me to give a letter to you.  
**Goro** : I think you'd like it.

It was one in the morning when his phone buzzed in his hand, and Goro jumped awake in bed.

**Akira** : Throw it out.  
**Akira** : I'm not interested.  
**Goro** : I don't think I can.  
**Akira** : Not my problem.  
**Goro** : I'm sorry.  
**Goro** : I want to see you tomorrow.  
**Akira** : Let it go, Goro.  
**Akira** : I'm not your project.

* * *

Three days left.

* * *

"Senpai," Ann said during lunch break. "You look..."

"Like shit. No offense."

"I do," Goro said.

"You're not gonna deny it? Are you _okay_ , dude?"

"I fucked up," Goro said. "So, no."

They were in the courtyard, and no wet-eared first years were around to hear the school's top student swear like a sailor. Ryuji's jaw dropped anyway, and Ann dropped a meatball from her bento onto the ground. "No! Damn it!"

Goro passed her a napkin, and she threw the meatball out into the trash with a groan.

"We're here for you," she said, and Ryuji gave him a thumbs up. The sight of them was almost enough to prick tears to his eyes. God, but what was happening to him? He couldn't tell them the truth - if Akira didn't want his former record getting out, then Goro sharing that information with the two biggest chatterboxes he knew - loved, but knew - would be monstrous.

So he said, "I tried to press Akira on an issue from his past, and he got angry. Told me not to fix him, and now he doesn't want to see me. Even though I apologized." The deadline was so close.

Ryuji said, " _Yeesh_. What did you think would happen?"

Ann chewed on her lip. "I can see why he'd be upset. What were you trying to get out of it?"

His lips were dry. "I don't know. I thought I could understand him, if I knew more about his past. Figured out what made him tick."

"Maybe," Ann said gently. "But people aren't a textbook, senpai. You can't just read a life summary about them and expect to get close to them that way." She raised a brow. "But you know this already. So why?"

"Because I wanted to know. Know if he was who I thought he was, and if anything made him that way, so I could..." It sounded pathetic even as he was saying it.

"You like him," Ann said.

Goro shuddered. "At this point I think I like the idea of him more than anything. Is that strange? I keep thinking, if it was me in his place, wouldn't I want someone to reach out for me and try to help me? Wouldn't I want someone to understand?"

"Yeah," said Ryuji. "But would you take it?"

Goro didn't know what to say.

"Look," the boy said. "I don't... really know what's going on between you and him, and maybe that's not my business. But _you're_ my business, 'cause we're friends by now, you know? And this..." He sighed. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Everything's been so tense lately," Ann said. "And you've had to do a lot for the team. Remember when we were targeting Kaneshiro? You almost fell apart then. I don't want that to happen again."

"What should I do?" Goro said, and hated how lost he sounded.

"Maybe you just need time apart. Get a change in perspective. Remember what and who we're doing this for."

"At this point I don't think we're doing this for anyone but ourselves."

"Since when was trying to survive such a bad thing?" said Ryuji. "We're protecting each other. No one else will."

"But it doesn't feel the same as it used to. Right?"

Few things ever did.

"Maybe we should stop," Goro whispered.

"We _will_ ," Ann said. "Just a few more weeks, and then it'll be over."

* * *

In the hazy green depths of Kaitul a Persona was born, and reached out.

It was a slow and substantial creature, with a sluggish shape and powers half the potential of its grown brethren. It breathed frost, and when it shook its head strands of ice rattled like wind chimes that had never seen the sun.

It looked sleepily upon the one who had summoned it and asked, _Art thou my other self?_

The boy said, "Are you?"

_Thou must have formed a bond, to deliver me._

"I can’t have. I only - " The silence of realization. Then, in a voice like dredging mud: "Yes."

_Why am I so weak? Why can I not even stand on my own two feet?_

"You're half-formed. You haven't truly been born yet."

The Persona lidded its pale blue eyes and sagged to the floor, white kimono pooling around its figure like a circle of weeping salt. _What shall it take, then, to birth me true anew?_

"More than I can give you at the moment. I'm sorry."

_Thine bond is not strong?_

"It's weaker than you could imagine." His mouth twisted. "You deserve more than me. All of you do."

This the Persona hardly understood, but forgave nonetheless. _I am thou, and thou art I. So long as we art together, I cannot imagine a greater happiness._

"You - " His voice cracked, and in the brooding isolation of Mementos, he could let the weakness pass without comment. "I can't promise you a better life. You might never get stronger than this."

_I know. But I am thine nonetheless. Where else would I belong?_

And with the soft and slender hands of a woman, it reached out to the boy and cupped his face with long and delicate fingers.

_Thou art only a child,_ it observed, and felt sorrow in its young heart. _Thou dost not deserve this either._

"I used to think so." A bitter laugh. "But it doesn't matter. I've committed. And some things you can't take back, no matter how hard you try. That's what being an adult means."

_Dost thou want to?_

"I don't know. I don't think anyone would forgive me even if I did. People turned their backs on me before, when I was innocent. Now..."

_Now thou art guilty._

"I am," he said, and wetness dripped down his cheek.

Without sound the Persona embraced him in its - _her_ arms and breathed out frost into his black hair and whispered, _I will protect thee. I vow this from now on, or my name is not Yuki-Onna._

"No," he mumbled, and buried his face into the collar of her kimono as white as tofu, as pure as snow. "No, it is."

And for once, the many other voices in his head were quiet.

* * *

"I'm going to live with my aunt for a while," said Mishima Yuuki as he sat at a table for five in a Japanese barbeque restaurant. "She lives in a small town. Says the schools are better there. That the teachers are nicer." He looked at his companion with restful black eyes, the discolouration on his skin long since gone. "Do you think that's true?"

"Possibly," Goro said, and saw the boy's temper flare.

"You didn't have to come. It's not like I wanted to do this. My mom made me."

"I know."

"So why are you here?"

"I don't know, Mishima." Goro lidded his eyes. "Is it wrong to want to say goodbye to someone? Even if we're not friends, I think by now I have an obligation to see your progress through as far as I'm able to."

Mishima glared, then sagged into his seat. "Thanks, doc. Ever thought about being a PI? Because you're one obnoxious stalker."

"Maybe so."

"And you're buying."

"Anything you want."

" _Everything_ I want."

"Why not? It's not like I need money for anything else."

The boy snorted. "You're a sad sack, you know?" On the corner of his lips, a tiny smile. He was enjoying this.

"Feel free to make fun of my existence if you want," Goro said. "I'm sure it constitutes as therapy in some prefecture or another."

"Sure," said Mishima. "It's the total opposite of what my therapist has been telling me to do, but hey, maybe it'll make me feel better.

"It won't," he added, when Goro drummed his fingers on the table while studying the menu. "Besides, I don't want to be an asshole."

"You're not."

"Yeah," said Mishima. "And neither are you."

His fingers stopped.

"I've been... talking with Shiho. Mostly texting. And uh, on the Phansite. She's on the team again. Wants to be captain. That's her goal for her third year. Crazy, isn't it?" Mishima grinned. "I didn't get it at first. Why she'd put herself through it again. Just to prove she could?"

"Everyone copes differently," Goro said.

"Yeah." Mishima fiddled with his hands. "Me, I'm done. But I thought about trying something too. Something that didn't remind me of volleyball at all.

"I - I took a writing class. And I like it." He closed his eyes. "I keep a journal, and when I get antsy I get a pen out and scribble whatever I'm thinking about. It's not always good, what I'm putting out, but it _feels_ good. Cathartic."

"Like therapy."

"Whatever you wanna call it. The point is... I have something to look forward to again. And the best part is, it's for _me_. I don't have to show anyone what I'm working on if I don't want to - and I don't want to. I have to hand in assignments, of course, but everything else is just me. It's fun."

"That's... great," Goro said. “Congratulations.”

"I guess I found a way to cope." Mishima scratched his head. "Lucky me, huh?"

* * *

Later, there was grilled beef and vegetables and seafood, and once the others arrived, noisy conversation and bustling laughter. There were no wasabi-stuffed wraps, no mischievous boyfriends or troublesome little sisters, and there were no secrets.

There was only Goro and Ann and Ryuji and Shiho and Yuuki, who laughed when people made jokes and accepted food from Ann's chopsticks without a second thought, and said, "Ever had intestine?" and "Goro-senpai's paying."

"Senpai?!" Ryuji was outraged. "Now you've got _him_ doing it!"

"You're next," Goro warned, and laughed when the boy spluttered. They all did.

And no, this wasn't perfect - it wasn't the Thieves together and harmonious, but he was with friends and he loved them: loved Ann and Ryuji, admired Shiho's courage and quiet strength, and Mishima? He would be alright. He didn't need Goro to do everything for him to make his life better.

Maybe nobody did. He had assumed, because he couldn't understand why someone would want to stay friends otherwise.

Maybe he didn't have to be Akira's keeper after all.

Maybe they could just be friends.

Maybe.

* * *

Two days.

* * *

"Hey," Futaba said, plopping down at a table under a tree in the Japanese garden. "What's up, Inari?"

Yusuke swallowed a mouthful of rice before he spoke. "I'm doing well, Futaba. And you?"

"I'm okay. Kurusu hasn't shown up to class in the past two days, fyi." Calling him Akira felt weird... so she didn't. Not when he wasn't around. "You think he's up to something?"

"Working on a case, surely."

"Or something fiendish. Like..."

"We don't have proof."

"I know we don't." She winced. "But I'm allowed to find him annoying still, right?"

"I thought you were getting along."

"We were cool! Until Goro apparently said something to him and now he won't talk, and - "

"Goro isn't always right. Perhaps the cold shoulder is warranted."

"Buddy, I _know_ that."

"So maybe it's something they have to resolve among themselves, and us getting in the way won't make it better."

She blurted out, "I wish it was you."

Yusuke stopped. He said, very carefully, "I beg your pardon?"

"You know." She wriggled her fingers, hoping he would just _get_ it. "The relationship stuff. Goro and you. I think... you probably wouldn't make him off-kilter so much, you know?"

"We... don't know that," he said. "I appreciate your sentiment, Futaba, but I think it's a little late for that. Goro is allowed to make his own choice. And he has."

"I know. I just... wish he was happier right now."

Yusuke gave her a slight smile. "We can't force people to be happy just because we want them to. Not even if we think we know better. Everyone has a right to themselves."

"So what _can_ we do?"

"Be there. Support them when they're down... and tell them when they've made a poor decision. But they have to be the one to make that decision. Not us." He sighed. "I know how frustrating that can be. We of all people no longer know what it means to be bystanders. But not everything is our fight."

When had Inari become so wise, so knowing? It was embarrassing. She was missing out.

"And if it _becomes_ our fight? What then?"

"Then we take heed of the risk," Yusuke said gently, "And do what we can."

If it came to that, Futaba didn't know what her limits were. How far she would go to protect the Thieves if they were hurt.

If Goro was hurt, Prometheus was going up against the gods again, and this time he was going to win.

"I'm glad you're on our side," she said. "Really."

"I'm glad we're friends too," said Yusuke, and smiled.

* * *

**Goro** : Tomorrow is our last day.  
**Goro** : Makoto, are you done with the calling card?  
**Makoto** : I'm nearly there.  
**Ann** : It doesn't have to be complicated.  
**Ryuji** : Yeah, don't stress yourself out over this.  
**Yusuke** : Has Nijima-san said anything to you yet?  
**Makoto** : She hasn't been home since that night at Leblanc.  
**Makoto** : At this point I'm reconciled to what's going to happen next.  
**Haru** : You did your best.  
**Haru** : Please don't blame yourself.  
**Futaba** : Yeah, everyone's pulled their weight.  
**Futaba** : (well...)  
**Ann** : Is Akira okay?  
**Ann** : I'm worried about him.  
**Goro** : I'm sure he'll contact us when he's ready.  
**Ryuji** : The deadline is tomorrow, though.  
**Makoto** : If Sis doesn't say anything by then, we'll go through with her change of heart.  
**Goro** : Yes, we will.  
**Goro** : Perhaps the Phantom Thieves have lost their way.  
**Goro** : Perhaps we're not doing this for justice anymore, but to protect our own skins.  
**Goro** : But right now, I can live with that.  
**Goro** : I care about all of you more than anything else.  
**Goro** : None of you deserve what could happen to you.  
**Goro** : So if it's us against Nijima-san, I know where I stand.  
**Makoto** : Me too.  
**Ann** : Senpai, you don't deserve to go to jail either.  
**Goro** : Thank you.  
**Futaba** : You're going to make me cry, bucko.  
**Goro** : Sorry.  
**Futaba** : Don't be.  
**Futaba** : Just wish I could do more than internet hug you right now.  
**Ryuji** : SAME  
**Haru** : I wish I could hug everyone right now.  
**Yusuke** : Don't we all.

* * *

**Yusuke** : Are you alright, Goro?  
**Yusuke** : Forgive me for prying, but your statements earlier seemed dreary.  
**Goro** : You didn't find them convincing?  
**Yusuke** : I found them sad.  
**Goro** : Well, you know me.  
**Goro** : If any of you got hurt because of me I'd be devastated.  
**Goro** : I hope you're not too disconcerted with our choice.  
**Goro** : You're welcome to step out if you like.  
**Yusuke** : And leave you to the dirty work yourself?  
**Yusuke** : I could never forgive myself.  
**Goro** : Honestly, I thought you'd take Akira's side on this.  
**Goro** : You're the one who convinced us not to change Isshiki-san's heart.  
**Goro** : It was the right choice then.  
**Yusuke** : It was.  
**Yusuke** : And in an ideal situation, it would be the right choice here too.  
**Goro** : In an ideal situation, we would never have to make this choice.  
**Goro** : I'm sorry about this.  
**Yusuke** : Goro, please.  
**Yusuke** : I shook hands with the devil too.  
**Yusuke** : You aren't the only one with agency here.  
**Goro:** You're so good to me.  
**Goro** : Sometimes I forget that.  
**Yusuke:** I learned from example.  
**Goro is typing...**  
**Goro:** Take care, Yusuke.  
**Yusuke** : I will.  
**Yusuke** : Sleep well.  
**Goro** : I'll try.

* * *

**Makoto** : When I was little I used to dream about owning a motorcycle.  
**Makoto** : I'd drive my tricycle all over the house and go vroom vroom.  
**Makoto** : Mom and Dad thought it was hilarious. Even when I tracked mud in from the yard.  
**Haru** : That sounds like a wonderful memory.  
**Haru** : Thank you for sharing it with me.  
**Makoto** : Do you have anything like that?  
**Makoto** : Something you go back to when you need something nice to think about?  
**Haru** : I'm not sure.  
**Haru** : I've lived only with my father for most of my life.  
**Makoto** : Sorry.  
**Haru** : Don't be.  
**Haru is typing...**  
**Haru:** I remember going in for my first ballet lesson with my mother when I was five.  
**Haru** : I was clumsy, and the other girls in my class were already novices.  
**Haru** : I was so flustered at one point I just held onto my mother's legs, begging her not to leave.  
**Makoto** : Oh no!  
**Haru** : Yes, the other parents were quite amused.  
**Haru** : But to me, it was a life-or-death situation. Nothing was more important than her staying with me.  
**Makoto** : Did she?  
**Haru** : Yes!  
**Haru** : She did the lesson with me.  
**Haru** : We danced together.  
**Haru** : By the end  I forgot my timidity and could bounce around with everyone else.  
**Haru** : It was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.  
**Makoto** : I beg your pardon, but is your mother still here today?  
**Haru** : She and Father separated when I was eight.  
**Makoto** : I'm sorry.  
**Haru** : It's been a long time since we've been in contact.  
**Haru** : Father always said she didn't want to see us any longer... but I'm not sure anymore.  
**Haru** : What incentive would he have had to be honest with me?  
**Makoto** : God, I'm so sorry. You must miss her so much.  
**Haru** : I do.  
**Haru** : But part of me is afraid as well.  
**Haru** : It's been almost a decade.  
**Haru** : What if she's moved on and has a new family now?  
**Haru** : What if I don't recognize her anymore?  
**Makoto** : Do you want to see her again?  
**Haru** : I don't know.  
**Haru** : It's terrifying to think about.  
**Makoto** : I couldn't imagine.  
**Haru** : I can't either :(  
**Makoto** : It seems like we all come from troubled families.  
**Makoto** : Excluding Ann, perhaps.  
**Haru** : Sakamoto-san is very kind as well.  
**Makoto** : She is.  
**Makoto** : I wonder what it says about us though?  
**Makoto** : Underneath it all, we're all terribly lonely.  
**Haru** : Are you lonely right now, Makoto?  
**Makoto** : I am.  
**Haru** : Me too.  
**Haru** : Maybe we can be lonely together.  
**Makoto** : Haha.  
**Makoto** : I don't think that would be a concern, then.  
**Makoto** : I doubt I could ever be anything but excited to do something with you.  
**Haru** : Do you mean that?  
**Makoto** : Yes!  
**Haru is typing...**  
**Haru:** Thank you so much.  
**Haru** : You have no idea what that means to me.

* * *

**Ann** : Nervous about tomorrow?  
**Ryuji** : How could I NOT be?  
**Ann** : Just asking.  
**Ryuji** : Sorry.  
**Ryuji** : Palace stuff is usually simpler than this.  
**Ann** : To us, maybe, but senpai's had to think about this even in the beginning.  
**Ann** : Maybe it's always been like this and we just noticed now.  
**Ryuji** : I don't think us changing Kamoshida's heart was this complicated.  
**Ann** : I did nearly kill him.  
**Ryuji** : Yeah, why didn't you?  
**Ann** : I don't know.  
**Ann** : It's not like I felt sorry for him. I wanted him to suffer.  
**Ann** : And I thought him being stuck in jail would be a better punishment than death.  
**Ann** : Is that sick of me?  
**Ryuji** : He's alive at least.  
**Ryuji** : Does it really matter WHAT you were thinking so long as you didn't kill him?  
**Ann** : I guess.  
**Ann** : Do you remember what he said afterward?  
**Ann** : He apologized.  
**Ann** : Said that nothing could ever make up for what he'd done.  
**Ann** : It was so creepy. And sad.  
**Ann** : I don't know if that's what his personality was really like under the distortion... or if we turned him into someone else.  
**Ann** : I just knew that I wanted to get away from him as far as possible.  
**Ryuji** : It's not like you have to forgive him just because he said he was sorry.  
**Ann** : You don't either.  
**Ryuji** : TRUST me I don't lol.  
**Ann** : Yeah.  
**Ann** : I guess it was just on my mind.  
**Ann** : Sorry to bother you.  
**Ryuji** : Nah it's cool.  
**Ann** : First Yusuke, now me...  
**Ann** : Soon you're going to be the team therapist.  
**Ryuji** : UGH NO THANKS

* * *

**Futaba** : You made up your mind yet?  
**Futaba** : Because it's cool if you don't want to hang out, but you shouldn't ignore Goro if you want to keep him.  
**Futaba** : Look, I don't know what he said to you, and knowing him it was probably some nosy invasive shit that makes you want to kick his ass.  
**Futaba** : I've been in the same situation. That guy is like a drug sniffer.  
**Futaba** : ... and maybe it's hypocritical of me to tell you he means well, because when he did to me I was furious.  
**Futaba** : But he DOES mean well.  
**Futaba** : And feel free to stay mad at him any other time you want.  
**Futaba** : But right now we're this close to sending the calling card.  
**Futaba** : So are you in or out?  
**Futaba** : Because no offense, we can do this without you.

**Akira** : Did Goro put you up to this?  
**Futaba** : Nope!  
**Futaba** : And oh, the prodigal son speaks!  
**Akira** : What do you want from me?  
**Futaba** : I want you to pick a side.  
**Futaba** : Phantom Thieves or Third Eye.  
**Futaba** : You want to be a loner, cool. You want to be one of us, cool.  
**Futaba** : But don't play this coy game and ignore all of us just because you're pissed at Goro for something.  
**Futaba** : I mean, you were like sugar and spice in the casino, so what happened exactly?  
**Akira** : That's none of your business.  
**Futaba** : Goro is.  
**Akira** : It's presumptuous to give me a shovel talk now.  
**Futaba** : Yeah, whatever.  
**Futaba** : Look... I know I can be an asshole.  
**Futaba** : And I definitely know you and I don't get along.  
**Futaba** : We don't have to be kumbaya just because we have a friend in common.  
**Futaba** : But you care about him, don't you?  
**Futaba** : And he definitely cares about you. Like, to a cartoonish degree.  
**Futaba** : That's all I can say.  
**Futaba** : Cheers.

* * *

His phone rang.

Morgana grumbled. Goro tried to ignore it too, but the rings went on unabated, and he squinted at the glass screen with bleary eyes.

He shot up at once, Morgana yelping as Goro nearly kicked him off the bed. "Goro!"

"Sorry, sorry," he mouthed, accepting the call and slipping into the living room in darkness so he could answer in private. "Yes?"

"Hey," Akira said on the other line.

Oh thank God. "Hey." Goro winced when his voice came out scratchy. "I just woke up - "

"Sorry."

"I don't mind." He rubbed at his eyes. "I mean... I want to apologize. I was out of line before, and - "

" _Look._ It's fine." Akira exhaled. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." He'd have to cancel his shift at Untouchables, but he didn't think Iwai would mind now that he and Kaoru had gotten closer. "Anytime."

"Leblanc. After closing."

He wet his lips. "I'll be there. I'll make Kopi Luwak for you - "

"Goro, please. Don't... do that." Akira sounded like it was physically hurting him. "You're really out of sorts, aren't you?"

When was he not? "Pathetic, isn't it? All I do is crave people's approval, and when I don't get it I flail in desperation."

"No," his phone whispered. "I don't think you do. I just think you're tired at the moment... and part of that’s because of me."

Goro didn't deny it. "I'll see you soon," he mumbled.

"Yeah. I gotta go home too."

It was three in the morning. "Where are you right now?"

"I... spent the day in Mementos." The boy's voice cracked. "Gotta make rent. I'll, uh, take a taxi. Don't worry about me."

"You might as well ask me not to breathe."

"I'm asking, then. No, keep breathing."

" _Akira_."

"Tomorrow. See you."

"See you," he echoed, and ended the call.

And stood there in the darkness of the living room of Sakura Sojiro's house with his heart racing and skin on fire.

* * *

Last day.

* * *

At Leblanc everything implored to drain and dismay him, from the malfunctioning coffee press to the spill on one of the booth seats, the clogged toilet and one frustrating customer who _hated_  how he made her Kenya AA and had him brew two more batches before Boss stepped in and told her to shove it. That sparked off a fifteen-minute argument that nearly involved a call to the police and a scowly promise to write a scalding online review. ("Good luck _finding_ us online.")

It was ten to closing. There was only one other customer in the cafe, Boss was trying to de-stress with an easier-than-usual crossword, and some mind numbing news channel was on the TV.

The bell rung.

"Hey," Akira said.

"Hello," Goro said.

"Come in," said Boss. "Unless you want to let the cold air in?"

"I don't." Akira hurried inside, the door shutting with a jangle. He sat down at the stool in front of Goro. They stared at each other, helpless.

Akira said, "Can I get something to drink?"

"Yes, you can," Goro said.

"Great." The boy stared at the chalkboard menu. "Uh..."

"Make up already." Boss grimaced. "Whatever you two are in a snit over at the moment, it's hard to watch, so clear the air before you leave tonight."

"Thanks," Akira said coolly. 

Goro wiped his hands on his apron. "What would you like?"

"Not Kopi Luwak."

Boss' eyes bulged. "You _offered_ that to him? Kid, do you know how much that costs!"

"Mocha Matari," Goro said, avoiding his guardian's gaze. "You haven't tried it before, but I think you'd like it."

For several minutes the only sounds made in the cafe were the scratch of Boss' pencil against newspaper, the yawn of the other customer as he rifled through his book, Akira laying his head on his arms as he watched Goro make coffee, and the clipped speech of the newscaster as she spoke about whatever political crisis was tormenting the country at present.

"- despite the growing widespread support for the Phantom Thieves among the public, many government officials have sent out official warnings regarding the Thieves' behaviour. Their strongest critic at present is the Minister for Foreign Affairs Shido Masayoshi, whose party is currently in the lead to win the coming election, potentially making Shido-san the new Prime Minister. Let's hear what he has to say.

"'The Phantom Thieves are nothing more than a pack of vigilantes who want to delegitimize this country's pride by humiliating it on the international stage,'" said the man on the TV, the same as the one Goro had seen in person so many months ago. "'Their _so-called_ change of hearts are an elaborate excuse for blackmail and trickery, and I will _not_ have them running loose and attempting to dismantle society any longer.'"

Goro choked. Dismantle society? Was that what Shido thought they were doing?

"'Moreover, I know without doubt that the Phantom Thieves are the culprits behind the rampage incidents. Make no mistake, they have blood on their hands. Arresting them will be my first priority as Prime Minister - '"

Boss shut off the TV, and Goro let out a breath he didn't remember holding.

"Hey!" the other customer protested. "I was watching that."

"You serious, Machida? You honestly believe that stuff Shido is spewing?"

"The current government isn't doing anything to stop the Thieves. Shido-san will. You two," he said, at Goro and Akira. "You believe in Shido-san's justice too, don't you?"

Goro wanted to vomit.

Akira wasn't even looking at the man. He was rubbing his temple with his eyes screwed shut, as if he had a headache. 

"Don't bother the kids with politics," Boss snapped. "Besides, we're closed now. Get moving."

Aware he wasn't wanted, Machida paid his bill and left. The moment he did, Boss grimaced. "Sorry you had to hear that."

"It's fine." Goro sagged against the counter. "Let him talk."

"... sure. I know you want to talk in private, so I'll let you close. Just don't make a mess, alright?"

"We won't," Goro said.

Akira said nothing.

Boss flipped the sign when he left, and Goro set a cup of Mocha Matari down. "Is something wrong?"

Akira lifted his head, cracking open an eye. "Sorry. Just hearing that shithead's voice made my head hurt."

"There's ice in the freezer. I can get you - "

Akira held up a hand. "It's okay. I think the moment's passed, anyway."

"Even so - "

"Keep babying me and I'm going to wonder what you _really_ want out of this relationship."

Goro wrapped arms around himself. "I've been told I do that quite often." He bit his lip. "I thought I'd gotten over it."

"I guess I'm such a basketcase you feel you have to help me or else. Right?"

He shook his head. "No, Akira... I help you because I want to."

"Yeah. And that's not so bad most of the time. I'm just not used to it. Everyone else leaves me alone. They don't ask about my personal life, and I don't ask them about theirs."

"Not exactly confidants, are you?" Goro said, and couldn't help the flicker of disappointment when Akira didn't react.

"No," the boy said, taking his first sip. "Allies, more like. Maybe that's why I've been so shit at making friends until now. I've never wanted anything more out of people until you.

" _Oh_ ," he exhaled, and stared at his cup in disbelief. "Goro, this is freaking amazing. What the hell."

"Glad you like it."

"Glad? I'm _pissed_ you've been keeping this from me!"

"I have not. You just didn't order it before - "

"Liar."

"Akira, how dare you!" Goro said in genuine outrage, then sucked in his breath as the boy flinched.

Then began to laugh. "Did you just get angry over coffee?"

"Of course I did! How could I not when you keep riling me up?"

"Yeah, I'm a real monster. Come over already."

Goro nearly tripped over himself in his rush to leave the staff side of the counter. Akira gestured at the stool next to his, and he sat down, green apron over his legs.

"Hey again," the boy said, calm now. "Feel better?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Goro's colour was high. "And I am sorry. My question was highly inappropriate."

"It was. All the same, I've never told anyone about it before. Maybe I just needed time."

"You don't have to - "

"I want to." The boy scratched the back of his neck. "I always thought if anyone would understand, it would be you. You lived in an institution before."

"I don't think it's the same thing," he whispered.

"No. But it's the closest thing anyone on the outside has faced. So." Akira rubbed his face, gazed at him through his fingers. "Do you know what solitary confinement feels like, Goro?"

 Goro's throat was dry. "No, I don't."

"You know what's funny?" Akira said. "Juvenile centers in Japan are supposed to be about _rehabilitation_. You're not going to be there long, so they're meant to fix you up for society and get you ready by the time you're out. Unfortunately, the judge at my trial had it out for me. Sent me to a place where no one cared about thugs and delinquents. I guess just because I was a kid didn't mean I should get off easy for fake shoving some psycho drunk." His grin was sour as vinegar. "Fuck me for trying, right?"

"You did the right thing," Goro said, though his words didn't feel his own. "How long were you in it for?"

"Three months."

"Oh my God."

" _God_ is right," Akira said. "At one point I wished they forgot about me so I could waste away and die. But no, I got my three meals a day. And I - " His voice cracked. "Learned how to dream a lot. As you do."

"How did you stay sane?"

"I didn't." Akira's voice was dull. "By the time I heard the voice in my head offering me power, I was convinced my ceiling was a guardian spirit keeping me safe from everything else and that the guards deliberately banged on my door during patrols so I'd never be able to sleep properly. I was right about one of them.

"I wasn't a person then. You don't have anyone to look at or talk to, there's barely any room to walk around, and you never get to see yourself. Sometimes I forgot I had a face, you know?"

Goro didn't know. Goro didn't know how Akira could speak of his time like this.

Maybe it was the only way he could speak of it at all. Even so.

"When the voice asked if I wanted to leave, I said yes. Of course I did. I was convinced I had gone mad anyway, so what was the loss? Only..." He rubbed his eyes. "Only I was in this strange shadowy world in my dreams. All I could see was fog... and all I knew was that I needed to run as far as I could. And when I woke up, I wasn't in my cell anymore.

"You were freed," Goro said.

"I was in the house of an old woman." Akira scratched the back of his ear. She must have found me somehow. Thought I was a runaway. I had to beg her not to call the police. She only wanted to help." He chewed his lip. “I stayed with her a while. The first week I was so sick I threw up _everything_. I could barely sleep on a real bed again, and after eating the same dreck for three months straight my stomach had gone to shit. There was so much noise too. I couldn’t handle it.”

No wonder. To go from everything to nothing to everything in a heartbeat -

“She took care of me. Told me I didn’t have to go home if I wanted, but I shouldn’t give up and just lie there. Don’t blame her,” he said, when Goro’s face darkened. “She didn’t know. Did you want me to give her a heart attack by telling her the truth?"

… no. He didn’t.

“She was right. I _was_ restless. I didn’t know what to do or what the voice wanted from me. I thought maybe it was a freak accident, and I should move on. Try to be normal again. And then one day the old lady gave me a phone to contact her with,” he said. “And the Nav App was there.”

Oh.

“That was…” Goro said, trying to place the timeline.

“Nearly two years ago. Around a couple of months before I came to Tokyo.”

God. “How old were you when you got arrested?” He was incredulous.

“I just turned fifteen,” Akira said. “And it was fucked up. I know.”

“Fucked up! That’s not even the end of it.”

The boy smiled wryly. “Thanks, Goro. It feels nice to hear you say that.

“Back to the App. It didn’t take me long to figure out something was. I tested it out. Tried to get it to work.” He lifted a brow. “Did you know there are other Mementos out there?” Goro gawked. "The town the old lady lived in had one. That’s how I got in. Only, it wasn’t a subway like the one in Shibuya. It was the town itself, only warped and misty and red. And instead of people, I ran into their Shadows.

“A lot of them were like their regular selves, just more honest. Harmless, mostly. A few, not so much." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I ran into an ugly bastard who was talking crap about the old lady. So I got angry, and he turned into a dragon and almost killed me."

"That's when you woke Arsene?" Goro said.

"I woke _something_ ," said Akira, not meeting his gaze. He went back to his coffee for a bit, then groaned and grabbed his head with his hands. "Goro - " he said with desperation. "Look. My first Persona? _Wasn't_ Arsene."

Goro stopped breathing.

Mutely, he held out his hands, and Akira grabbed them with the thirst of a dying man in a desert, his own cold and clammy and trembling.

"I always thought that when my Persona came to me, I was special. When I went into the other world, I could help people. Whenever I beat a Shadow down into its human form and let it go, the next time I saw that person in real life they'd have changed completely. It was _liberating_. I managed to fix some real pieces of shit in the old lady's town, and she knew it. So when people started asking questions, she helped get me get some fake papers and bought me a ticket to Tokyo. A small town like hers was too nosy to let me live in peace, but I could disappear in the city. It's not like anyone from my old life was going to try and find me."

Slowly, thoughts began to form in Goro's head again. "That's why you became the Third Eye," he breathed in. "To help people."

"I had the means," said Akira. "And the motive. That's how I met Sae-san." He closed his eyes. "But I could never tell her how I got my information. Always lied. Said I knew a lot of people at first... then, that I wanted to be a hotshot detective like Shirogane. She didn't trust me... but she followed my leads. That was all I could ask her to do.

"And then I ran into my first Palace."

He was staring down at their entwined hands, pale and paler, both soft in some places, coarse in others. Goro's clumsy fingers had become nimble after months of cooking, lockpicking, gardening, the occasional fishing trip with Ryuji. Akira's were...

On the knuckle of the middle finger of his right hand, there was an outline of a scar Goro had never seen before. He wondered if Akira had scars on other parts of his body. If he had a shady doctor of his own, like Goro had Takemi.

If this mythical first Persona of his could heal him, or if he had always suffered alone.

"There was this guy Sae-san was talking about. Some freak movie director who had a whole bunch of abuse charges dropped because he was rich and famous, and the victim was his assistant. Sae-san was the prosecutor on his case, but the judge ruled against her, and she had to move on. I thought I could do her a favour, you know. Get him to turn himself in and confess. I couldn't find him in Mementos, though.

"But I found his Palace. That place was a nightmare." Akira swallowed. "The cognitions of his victims were like mannequins. They'd be still whenever I was looking at them, but they were constantly moving otherwise. Running away from me, I thought. Instead - " His grip on Goro's hands grew painful. "They led me right to him."

"Maybe that was his guilt," Goro said, fighting the urge to wince.

"Maybe," Akira repeated. "Either way, I was too weak. So I tried to find out more about him in real life. It didn't help. The victims didn't want to talk to some nosy teenager, and the police got angrier every time I brought it up. They told Sae-san to get rid of me or else. I couldn't ask her for help if I wanted her to keep my job.

"So I went back to the Palace, over and over and over again until I figured out his tricks. But when I defeated him, his Shadow didn't change. He wasn't sorry for what he did, he didn't care how many people he hurt... and I stopped caring too. He'd already been through a trial once, and gotten off easy. It was going to happen again. So..."

"Did you kill him?" Goro whispered, in a soft and terrible voice.

"No," said Kurusu Akira, and stared at him with fear and defiance in his grey eyes like slate, like concrete after rain. "No, I drove him insane."

And there it was.

_You asked for this, you know._

"It's fucking bullshit, isn't it," the boy said, and his voice and body was beginning to fragment, and his hands squeeze Goro's as if he was hanging off a cliff and Goro was the edge he clung from. "I thought I could forget what happened to me. That it was an accident. Bad apples in a good basket. Like the man who screwed me over because I stopped him from _raping_ someone. He was the only one I had to blame, and no one else.

"I was wrong. There are _so_ many people who'll swallow shit whole and believe the worst things about you because they don't want to get involved. Because they don't want to rock the boat. Because you tried to stick up for someone once in your life, but the guy you were up against was way out of your league. And then you're _nothing_ , and your parents don't even look at you anymore because the shrine can't keep going if you're around, and - "

He stopped, a sheen on his eyes. Goro eased his hands out. They were pink, with bright finger imprints on his palms. 

"It must have felt like you'd fallen from heaven," he said gently, and wondered how his voice could remain so calm when inside his stomach was made of waves, and his heart was a battering ram.

"I thought that too." Akira wiped at his eyes. "Turns out I'm not special. There are so many people who've been hurt and ruined, and no one cares. And people like that drunken fuck- that director - people who use the power they have to hurt others and get out of jail free - "

"People who have Palaces," Goro mumbled, and Akira nodded.

"I don't really care where they end up when I'm done with them," the boy said. "Do you?"

* * *

There was so much Goro had to think about, yet his mind was blank, and incapable.

A voice had spoken to Akira whilst in solitary confinement, and saved him. The Nav App had come to Akira first. Akira had had a Persona that wasn't Arsene. Akira had driven a movie director mad. That fit the MO of the rampage incidents perfectly.

Which were all Akira's doing, most likely. Making him the Warden. Which resulted in... what, exactly?

Some twenty-odd known victims.

None dead ~~that the police knew of~~. After their mental breaks, a few had regained something akin to identity again, and thought. Others were now in facilities designed for the most vulnerable. Others yet were in induced comas. None were the same as before.

A cold and churlish part of Goro asked: _so what? He hasn't killed anyone ~~that you know~~. He never did anything in person. He's the Third Eye. He's helping people. He's a Phantom Thief. He's your boyfriend._

He's Akira, and he's in love with you.

If it were you, you'd have done the same thing.

If it were you, you'd have done much worse.

If it were you, you wouldn't even care.

If.

* * *

"Akira," he managed finally. "Was the director the only one you hurt?"

The boy said nothing. It was confirmation enough.

"I... won't pretend I don't understand your sentiment," Goro said, the words rolling off his tongue like boulders, like rocks. "But those people... when you drove them mad - they attacked those around them. They created new victims. They..." He didn't even know what he was saying. "They weren't themselves."

"They were already terrible people," Akira whispered, but his face when Goro could look at him again was heartbroken.

"Do you hate me now?"

"I don't," Goro said.

"Do you want to turn me into the cops?"

"I don't."

"Do you think I'm a monster?"

"I - "

His breath caught in his throat.

"What do you want me to say?" Goro said, and was miserable.

"I don't know," Akira said, and drew into himself.

Goro buried his face in his hands. He wasn't equipped to handle this, but he'd gone prodding anyway, and now what?

Turn Akira in, and let the Phantom Thieves hunt in peace once more.

Keep his secret, and let him continue to rack up the hits.

Join forces, and unleash terror upon all of Japan.

Make your choice, Goro.

* * *

"You have to stop," he said. "Whatever you've been doing, you have to _stop_ , Akira."

"I already have," Akira said. He looked like an injured dog. Goro hated it - hated how futile it was to lash out. Akira was already bearing his sins to him, he couldn't push him too far and drive him back into his old ways.

"When was the last time you - you did this to someone?"

"Hawaii. Af - when you were in Hawaii," Akira said, and Goro thought about dying.

_This is the path you have chosen_ , Robin Hood whispered. _May it serve you true._

"I'm not going to turn you in," he said, and the boy visibly deflated in tension. "And... I'm not going to tell anyone else. But this... we have to fix this somehow. We can't forget these incidents. You hurt people, Akira. And I know why you did it, and how something like that feels _so_ right in the moment and nothing else matters, but - but our actions have consequences, and when they spiral out of control we have to fix them."

Akira stared as if he was speaking gibberish. _Coming from you?_   He could have said. _Who do you think you are?_

But all he said was, "I want to. Ever since I joined the Thieves it's been eating away at me. But I don't know what to do. And I don't want to go back." He screwed his eyes shut, shuddering. "I'm such a fucking hypocrite.  I don't want to go back. I don't want to turn myself in. I can't - "

"You're not going back to _anything_." Goro grabbed his face, made him look at him. "We'll figure something out," he whispered. "And I'll help you. I'll rehabilitate you myself if I have to. But we can't pretend just feeling sorry for ourselves is the answer. We have to change for the better."

"We," Akira said weakly. "But you're just talking about me, aren't you? You don't have to pretend it's you as well." He swallowed. "You don't have to do this, Goro."

"No," Goro said. "But someone has to."

And if he had to be Akira's personal fucking Igor to drag him onto a better path, then so be it.

What was that about not being his keeper, Goro?

* * *

Nijima Makoto was hopeless.

A hundred paper slips lay in crumpled ruin on the floor of her bedroom. After a certain point she had stopped shredding them. Stopped discarding the pieces in the bin.

Stopped trying to pretend what she was doing was right.

So when the door opened and Sae entered her room only to see her bent over on her bed with half a forest’s worth of paper surrounding her like a fairy’s circle, Makoto closed her eyes and resigned herself to fate.

For a while, there was silence. Then the strain of Sae sitting down on the bed, and her sister’s quiet voice as she said, “Are these for me?”

Makoto said nothing, lest the guilt pour from her mouth like a waterfall.

“‘Nijima Sae, you've gone too far. In your pursuit for the truth you have smeared the hearts of innocents and called it justice.’ Makoto… is this what you think of me?”

“It's what I think of myself,” Makoto said, and hated how Sae's eyes softened not in disgust, but in pity.

“All this… is quite fanciful, isn't it? Phantom Thieves. Change of hearts. Treasures. What you've been up under my nose, and I never noticed.” She shook her head. “If only I'd paid attention when it mattered.”

As if a concentrated dosage of sororal affection could have prevented all this. “I've always been headstrong," Makoto said. "You couldn't have stopped me.”

“No,” Sae said. “But I could have shown you another way.”

“Your way,” Makoto said dully.

“My way.” The woman sighed. “It doesn't hold much stake with you at the moment, but then it shouldn't. After all, I haven't been acting honourably myself.”

“You haven't,” she said, and laughed with a burning itch in her throat.

“I… still don't know if anything you've told me is real,” Sae said. “But I believe that you believe it's real. And if so, I'm still angry. Angry that you think the best way to solve a problem is to reach into someone's heart and turn them into someone else. We can't base our sense of justice in that. People have a right to themselves, even if they're criminals.” A pause. “Even if they're me.”

“I know, Sis,” Makoto said. “And I'm tired. Tired of skulking around the apartment like I don't belong here anymore. But maybe I don't.”

“Of course you do,” Sae said. “This is your home as well.”

Makoto just looked at her.

“What are you going to do with us?” she asked. “Because everything you've said about us was right. We _are_ a group of teenagers running wild, and for all the good we do the power we hold is dangerous, and if we're not careful we could use it to seriously hurt people. We probably already have."

"Yes," said Sae. “Not so easy now, is it?” 

“I never understood why you became a prosecutor. Until now.”

“Yes, well…” Sae folded her hands in her lap. “We all have things we regret not understanding sooner.

“I've put you in an impossible situation, Makoto. And for that I'm truly sorry.”

_Why are_ you _apologizing?_  Tears as sharp as onions sprung to Makoto’s eyes, and she blinked them away with a flustered laugh, a wave of hands towards her flushed face. “Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me - “

“I do,” said Sae, and put an arm around her.

* * *

“Brought home another stray, have you?” said Boss later that night.

“I'll cook dinner,” Goro said by way of apology.

“Thanks for having me,” Akira said, making a stiff bow. Boss waved him off, and headed to the bath.

A faint odor of cigarettes hung in the air. Goro cracked open the patio door for fresh air. “What would you like to eat?”

“You're asking _me?_ It's your house.”

“It is,” Goro said, and despite the strange jolt in his body after, went on. “And I'm hungry. Are you?”

Akira’s stomach answered for him.

* * *

Pot. Heat, on. Oil, in. Pork cutlets, out. Tenderizer. Flour, eggs, breadcrumbs.

Rice cooker.

Salad.

Fry, sizzle, fry. Sauce. Pickled ginger.

Barley tea. Water.

Service.

Akira looked dumbstruck when Goro set the table with three sets of katsudon, miso soup, and salad on the table. "I," he said, then lapsed into confused silence.

It was a better silence than before. He had been sitting on the couch, scrolling through his phone while Goro cooked. For once he hoped Futaba wasn't checking in on her least favourite test subject. Goro didn't know how he could justify Akira's presence at the house to her - much less the prospect of the boy using her room when he slept over.

No, that wasn't going to happen. Not tonight.

"Are you going to eat," Akira said, breaking his train of thought, "or just stand there and watch me?"

Goro sat down.

"I," Akira said again, staring down at his steaming bowl of katsudon. "I can't believe you actually made this. When did you have the time to learn?"

"I trade cooking turns with Boss. He makes curry, and I make everything else."

"You're kidding." 

"I didn't know how to cook before I came. But necessity makes a genius even out of fools, and Boss always has ingredients to spare." They should wait for the man. Goro picked up his chopsticks. "And someone your age shouldn't be eating so much take-out anyway. Unhealthy."

"I - how did you know that?" Akira blinked. "Have you been going through my recycling?"

_Don't bring up the group texts, idiot._ "Lucky guess." Goro nearly swallowed his tongue. "You live by yourself. And you're busy. So."

"So," Akira echoed. He stirred his miso soup with his chopsticks until it grew cloudy, small bits of seaweed and tofu floating in the soybean haze. "Goro, I...

"Thank you," he said, and the relief in his voice was childlike. "I did think you'd freak out on me earlier. That I was too far gone, and..." He bit his lip. "I would have understood. It's not like I don't know what I've been doing. But it _does_ feel right in the moment, and when I think about how some people have get away with it for so long - "

The bathroom door opened, and Boss came out with a damp towel around his shoulders and a puff of steam dissipating around him.

"It's alright," Goro said. "We'll figure something out together."

"Yeah," Akira swallowed. "I hope so. I really do."

* * *

Akira offered to wash the dishes after dinner, and Goro's phone rung.

Morgana was at Futaba's tonight. The cat's sleeping arrangements changed almost daily nowadays, and Goro couldn't help the guilt, the necessity. He loved Morgana. He also didn't want him around when trying to figure out what to do with Akira's bewildering nightmare of a past. He couldn't ask him to keep a secret from the other Thieves - but he also remembered what had happened the last time _he_ had been too secretive for his own good.

He would tell everyone in good time. But not without a plan first. They'd never _had_ a plan on what to do with Akira if their suspicions proved correct. Despite their bravado, they weren't criminal masterminds. Just a lot of confused children and one confused cat.

He owed Nijima Sae an apology.

Makoto was calling. Maybe it would come sooner than he'd thought.

* * *

 In the privacy of his bedroom, Goro listened as Makoto said, "Sis isn't going to turn us in. I think we're home free, Goro."

Heartbeat, fluctuating. He could hear the tap running, Boss saying something low and indistinct to Akira outside.

"What about our deal?" he mumbled in the dark.

A sigh. "She told us to drop it. And I think she's right."

"But - "

"She said she'll look into it if there's any evidence against Shido," Makoto said. "But she doesn't want us getting involved and going into his Palace. Too dangerous."

"So we're disbanding a month early?"

"Is that so terrible? I don't think I could survive another month of what we've been up to lately. Can you?"

No. No. Be honest.

"I couldn't, either," he whispered. "I'm sorry you had to do this for us."

"You mean talk to Sis more than once a year? Don't worry." He could hear the weariness in her voice, the exhausted smile she must be sporting. "It's the least I could do for the team right now."

She had no idea how right she was. "You're a good friend, Queen. Thank you."

"I'm just glad we're not going to have to fight her Shadow tomorrow," Makoto said wryly. "But Goro, are you okay? You sounded tired."

"I am," said Goro, and the first hint of a manic laugh bubbled into his throat. "But at least we're good. For now."

* * *

When he was calm again, he left his room and went to the kitchen. Akira looked sweet in the blue apron they used at home, the bright yellow rubber gloves that went up to his arm. Goro stared at him from the threshold until the boy stopped rinsing the dishes and gave him a nervous smile. "Yeah?"

His own phone hadn't rung yet. He kept it turned off nowadays, Futaba said. Made it hard to track his whereabouts. God, but... that was sick of them, wasn't it? They needed to stop. 

Goro crossed the lineoleum floor and embraced him. "Everything's going to be fine," he whispered into Akira's shoulder, his neck, his scent. It smelled like nerves tonight, and regret.

And after a moment of surprise, of hesitance, Akira's arms crossed at his back and held him there.

For all his terrible faults, he had no idea what Goro had already done to him. And that shouldn't hurt as much as it did. But he did.

* * *

"Boss seems nice," Akira mumbled that night, lying down on his futon on the floor of Goro's bedroom.

"He often is." Goro was in his bed, not yet daring to want more.

"When you were in the bath - " A huffy breath. "He asked me if we were always going to be like this. Nice one day, dramatic the next. He told us to - "

"Oh my God. Akira, please."

" - get the crap out of our systems early so we could enjoy the golden years in peace."

"I don't want relationship advice from someone who's been a confirmed bachelor since he was five years old." Goro rolled over onto his side just to glare at Akira in Boss' place. "Don't let him or anyone else give you the shovel talk."

"You don't like it?"

"My family and friends should be warning my beau about _me_ ," Goro breathed in. Then the heat crept from his heart to his face, his fingers, his toes. Beau. They had only kissed maybe a week ago. They'd gone on one-and-a-half dates. He had no right to pretend they were meaningful, not in their current state. _Not while he's you-know-who, and you're you._

Akira rolled over to face him too, and said in a soft voice, "Can you sleep down here? It feels so..." The faint line of his fingers as he wriggled them inarticulately.

"Akira..."

"I want you to. Please?"

It wasn't even a conscious thought to move. Goro slipped out of bed, dragged his pillow and blanket along. Akira shuffled to the side, let him take up space until their limbs pressed together even through their clothes. With courage as strained as flour through a sieve, Goro lifted a hand and touched Akira's cheek.

"You," he whispered, "are going to be the death of me."

"Thank God for Samarecarm." Akira grinned sheepishly.

"Thank God for a lot of things." Goro closed his eyes.

"Thank God for you," the boy said, and pressed a kiss to his hand.

"Akira..." He didn't open his eyes, but he could feel lips against his palm, the press in a warm line. Fingers, comforting and steady over his own.

"Thank God," Akira said, and said nothing else that night.

* * *

**Futaba** : ALL HAIL QUEEN SHE IS GOD TIER  
**Yusuke** : I have to agree.  
**Yusuke** : We've had our disagreements over this Palace, but I'm glad you were able to resolve this peacefully, Makoto.  
**Haru** : Yes!  
**Makoto** : Oh, stop. It wasn't me.  
**Makoto** : Sis came to her senses on her own.  
**Makoto** : And I'm still nervous about the outcome, but she seems in a better mood now.  
**Akira** : Either way, you did what you could.  
**Akira** : We owe you.  
**Makoto** : Thank you.  
**Makoto** : Even if our existence as a group is now uncertain.  
**Goro** : We all have exams and things in our lives keeping us busy.  
**Goro** : We deserve some time off before making a decision on the Thieves' future or lack thereof.  
**Ann** : Gotta say, moving on does seem kind of scary...  
**Ann** : But it was going to happen sooner or later, right?  
**Makoto** : Realistically we could never have done this forever.  
**Makoto** : Especially since Goro, Haru, and I are going to graduate soon.  
**Yusuke** : You must all work hard on your entrance exams.  
**Haru** : It's not until January.  
**Haru** : But I haven't been going to cram school as of late.  
**Makoto** : Neither have I.  
**Ryuji** : Guys if all you talk about is your grades from now on I'm going to be sad as hell.  
**Ryuji** : The group chat doesn't deserve this.  
**Ann** : Yeah! We should celebrate!  
**Futaba** : YES  
**Futaba** : EVERYTHING HAS BEEN WAY TOO STRESSFUL LATELY  
**Futaba** : NOW IT'S TIME TO PARTAAAAAAAAAY  
**Futaba** : ps Morgana agrees!  
**Akira** : What do people have in mind?  
**Haru** : Well...

* * *

In the glittering busywork of the casino, cognitions oblivious as children as they gambled and chatted and cried, the dealer said, "They're not coming."

"Pity," said the Manager, and turned away.

* * *

 "Haru?"

She didn't hear her name at first, busy making ochazuke for his breakfast. But then he said, "Haru," again, and when she turned in faint surprise Father was sitting up in bed with clear eyes and gazing at her.

"Father?" Haru said tentatively, and Okumura Kunikazu nodded.

He saw the bowl in her hands, the tray of food on the cart behind her. "You..." His eyes widened. "Have you been taking care of me?"

"When I can. Yamada-san works so much, and I wanted to help her."

"Help her. You mean..."

"I've been feeding you breakfast for the past week. I hope you don't mind."

"Don't _mind?_ " He laughed, then clutched his temple in pain. Haru flinched.

"You're still ill, Father. Please be careful."

"No, no. I'm..." Even now, he looked sallow, his black hair limp against his brow. He had lost weight during the long month, was hardly the memory of his old self. "I'm," he repeated. "I'm not ill. What I am - I am - what I am is sorry."

"Sorry?" She put the bowl away on the cart, clasped her hands to her front. Daring not to hope yet.

"I'm sorry," Okumura Kunikazu said. "I'm sorry, Haru, I'm so sorry - "

He coughed violently, bringing up his arm to cover his mouth. Specks of blood splattered his sleeve, and she shuddered at the sight. "I'll get Yamada-san to call the doctor."

"No! I have to - " Father groaned. "I can't lie in bed any longer. I have to apologize. I have to atone.

"I have to call a press conference."

She didn't follow his line of thought. "But you've just woken up, and - "

" _Haru_ ," said Father, and a hint of his old tone came back into his voice. "I have to do this. Please."

Her voice closed up in her throat. "Yes, Father," Haru said. "I'll get Yamada-san right away."

"Good. Thank you." He leaned back into the pillows in relief. "I... I'm so grateful to have a daughter like you. You must know that."

"I - I do."

But he didn't say anything more. After a stifled pause, Haru realized that meant she was meant to go, and did.

Okumura Kunikazu fed himself for the first time in a month, and despite his change of heart, his daughter still felt alone in her own home.

* * *

"I owe you an apology."

The words came from the calm, clipped tone of a silver-haired prosecutor, and Akira looked up from his phone in surprise and put it away. "Sae-san," he said, barely able to hide the pinch of anxiety in his voice. "How have you been?"

She sat down at his table, brow lifted. "You'd have known earlier," she said in a gentle rebuke, "if you had been willing to meet up with me."

"Right." He sagged in his seat. "I wasn't in the mood. Sorry."

"Kurusu... Kurusu-kun," she corrected herself. "Makoto told me the truth about you."

A needle of fear slid down in between his shoulder blades, his back. "What do you mean by that?"

Sae-san lowered her voice. "I mistook your identity," she said. "Assumed you were one of her group from the beginning because you spent so much time with Akechi, and it seemed to fit your modus operandi." A purse of pink lips. "An infantile mistake on my part. You didn't even join the team until after I'd accused you of - "

"Right, right." They were still in public. "Sae-san, it's okay. I... I forgive you."

"I should have trusted you."

" _Again_ ," Akira said. "It's fine."

The waitress took their drinks orders. When she left, Sae-san said, "I've been assigned to a new case. One I'm wondering if you'd like to assist me on. _If_ you're interested."

"I - you're not going after Shido?" He bit his tongue. "What about the plan?"

Sae-san sighed.

"Honestly, it wasn't a terrible idea," she murmured. "But the premise so shaky you'll understand me not buying into its success entirely. Nor do I really want your team skulking about trying to get me the dirt on the matter. I'll... look into it on my own time, Kurusu-kun. But I strongly recommend you and everyone else leaving that kind of life behind. Please."

_Please_.

"Okay," Akira said blankly. "What do you want me to help you with, then?"

She took a portfolio out of her bag, slid it across the table. "I know you have school to worry about. Exams, extracurriculars, and the such. And of course, Akechi." Even now she looked vaguely disapproving. "As ever, I advise the two of you to be careful about your actions. This boon was for Makoto - and for you.

"But if you have free time, I'd like you to read into this and tell me what you think. After all, you're still one of the smartest people I know."

Akira flipped the portfolio open. His gaze landed on the first page.

He forgot to breathe.

"Before, I couldn't understand how the perpetrator was committing his crimes," said Sae-san. "Rampage incidents? Driving people berserk? It sounded like a fantasy people made up to dramatize an already absurd series of inexplicable incidents. But now that I'm aware of the Metaverse and its gifts - " Still shaking her head in faint disbelief. "I think you'd be the perfect person to help me figure out who the culprit is, Kurusu-kun, and how to stop him.

"So," she said, while Akira was frozen in his seat. "What do you say?"

* * *

**DREAMS COME TRUE AT DESTINYLAND**

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Futaba cheered as they passed the gaudy neon sign hanging over the entrance to the amusement park. "Today is about one thing and one thing only: roller coasters!"

"Hm," said Yusuke, unfolding a map as large as one of his canvases. "Some of these look steep, Futaba. Must we try them all?"

"Yes, Inari! And no, you don't get to back out!"

"I do, right?" said Morgana plaintively in Goro's bag. "I'm delicate cargo!"

"You and I are only going on the teacup ride," he agreed.

"Sorry, I think they have a height maximum on those,” said Ann. “Besides, they don’t let you take your bags on the rides. It’d be chaos otherwise.”

“Oh,” said Goro and Morgana as one.

“We’ll take turns,” said Makoto. "You two deserve a break."

"From each other...? But we're a pair."

"We are," Goro said, and scratched the cat on the back of the neck, Morgana butting his hand in approval.

"Sounds good," said Ryuji, grabbing Yusuke by the arm. "Yo, I want to check out the arcade."

"He's coming with me. Inari, coaster!"

"Please! There's enough of me to go around," said Yusuke while clearly not believing it.

"You people are terrible," Ann informed them. "Senpai, is there anything _you_ want to do?"

"Everything," said Haru. "I want to go on everything today."

She spoke more with determination than joy. Okumura senior was finally up and about, was going to host a televised press conference in the evening. Goro looked forward to it. Yet, when Haru had told them about it, she hadn't looked happy so much as disappointed. Perhaps she'd wanted to spend the day with him. Perhaps he hadn't changed as much as she'd thought.

They'd all find out, later.

"Let's go," said Makoto. "There are some games I'd like to try out as well..."

"We deserve this break," Goro said. "Right, Akira?"

And the Phantom Thief who had been silent all this time lifted his head and said with a weak smile, "Right."

* * *

"Isshiki Futaba, you are a _speed demon_ ," Ann gasped half an hour later, bent over a railing as she tried to recuperate from the third roller coaster they'd gone in a row. " _How are you still standing_."

Futaba adjusted her glasses smugly and said, "You get used to it."

"No, really," said Ryuji, who'd already come close to throwing up twice. "What the hell is your secret."

Destinyland was packed with crowds, and anyone could overhear. Conversely, everyone was minding their own damn business on their day off, and Futaba looked around before saying, "Guys, I fly around in an alien spaceship. Vertigo is the least of my problems."

"Either way, I am _never_ doing this again."

"Lame. Can we at least go on the swing ride then?" She pointed in its direction, and Ryuji's legs buckled.

"That goes up two hundred feet in the air!"

"Anything less," Futaba said, "is for babies."

* * *

Bang!

Haru lowered her rifle, and the astonished employee said, "That's a three for three, miss! What prize would you like?"

"Oh." She blushed. "The monkey, please."

One soft and adorable stuffed monkey in her arms after, Haru returned to her fellow third-years in triumph. "Well done," said Makoto, looking impressed and slightly stricken.

"Should we wonder where you've been getting your target practice in, Okumura-san?"

"Goro, please!" Haru laughed. "I'm not like that. I just - "

"Mm hmm."

She brought up her hand in an imitation of a finger gun. "Watch your tone, Akechi-kun. Or..."

"Or," Goro said, terrible smile intact.

"Pow," she said. "Right through your heart."

Goro even gasped and clutched the left side of his chest, making Makoto turn her face away in embarrassment.

"I'm a big fan of the new and improved Okumura Haru," Goro said. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Oh, not this again!"

"She's a sparkling figure indeed," Makoto said, covering her mouth. "I'm glad things are finally working out, Haru."

"Me too," she said. "Me too."

* * *

"Yusuke, I think that's one for kids." Akira pointed to a sign, which clearly stated the minimum and maximum height rules, the latter which Yusuke had failed to conform with since he was eleven.

"Oh." He stepped away from the motorcycle ride sadly. "That's disappointing."

"Come on," the boy said. "You never went on this stuff as a kid yourself?" He realized his slip a moment later, wincing. "Sorry. Of course you wouldn't have."

Akira was sensitive. Yusuke realized it more by the day, and the gears ticked and shifted in his mind in curiosity. "There's... a lot I wasn't able to do before, living at the atelier. Things I can do now."

In his thoughts, a raygun appeared, a glowing light blue lightsaber that buzzed as it did in the films. Oh, Goro. Yusuke had never asked, but perhaps it was the same for him. He and Futaba did watch so much anime together nowadays, much of it meant for those younger than they.

"Well," Akira ventured, "if we look around I'm sure we'll find a ride like that. Just, uh, for grownups."

"I'm sixteen, Akira."

"Really. Because you are _ridiculously_ tall for your age." The boy even made a show of gawking upward as if there was more than six centimetres between them. "Going to stop anytime soon?"

"Never. I plan to be over two metres by the time I'm twenty."

"Ah, that famous Kitagawa charm. You're starting to win me over, you know that?"

"Am I?"

"Weirdly enough," said Akira. "Yes."

Yusuke chuckled. "You're not what I thought you were either."

"Oh God, you must have thought I was an asshole."

By now, the memory of what Goro had relayed to him about Akira during Isshiki-san's Palace was a distant and clouded thing. Kurusu then and Akira now hardly seemed the same person.

Or perhaps he had grown. Like Yusuke, and everyone else.

"I did. But nowadays I think of you as a friend, Akira. I hope that's acceptable."

Akira's smile turned briefly stiff. He worked his jaw with difficulty and said finally, "I feel the same way."

"Good," Yusuke hummed. "Now, let's find something interesting to do."

* * *

"I," said Makoto, "cannot believe you are feeding Morgana cotton candy right now."

"Shhhh," said Ann noisily. "What do you think, Mona?"

"Not bad!" said the cat on her lap. "Though there's this weird residue on my tongue after. Yuck!"

"Let me get you a tissue - "

Ryuji ambled by with a skewer of fried potatoes drizzled with ketchup. "Thought amusement park food would suck, but this stuff is _good_. There are some real classy joints here!"

"The lines are a bit long," Haru said, holding a small boat of takoyaki. "I've never had to wait so long for anything before."

"Sorry about that," Makoto said. "I know you wanted to come here privately."

"It's alright." The girl's eyes crinkled in a smile. "The atmosphere is more lively this way. Plus, I really should get out more."

"Yeah, being a commoner rules."

"Ooh." Morgana perked up. "Can I try some of that? Cat tax!"

"I thought you were _not_ a cat, dude," Ryuji said accusingly while handing a slice over.

"I'm not. But I am an opportunist. Thanks!"

* * *

As the ferris wheel jerked into motion under their feet, Goro breathed in for comfort while Futaba slouched in her seat and propped up her feet right next to him.

"So," she drawled, "you want me to delete what I've got on Kurusu and Nijima, huh?"

He shrugged. "Was it really of any use to us? We tried, but we didn't learn anything about them. Not from this." He tried to keep steady as their basket went up and down, up and down. "And at this point I'd rather not have any more sins weighing me down."

"Sins, you say."

"Yes," he said, and saw her close her eyes and sigh heavily.

"Cool," she mumbled. "Not like I enjoyed reading your texts anyway."

"Futaba..."

"Ask me to invade someone's privacy, you don't get to keep your own. Grey hat rules."

Right. "There is a favour I have to ask though."

"Goro. _More_ spying? Just after what you just told me?"

"Hear me out. It's..."

God, but Akira might kill him for this. He'd deserve it too. But without this person, Akira would never have become who he was now. And if Goro was to make him believe in his rehabilitation, then...

"I want you to find the identity of the man who got Akira arrested when he was fifteen," he said, and Futaba thumped her head against the metal ceiling of their basket in shock and screeched:

_"What?"_

* * *

Somewhere along the scenic coaster route that trailed through a landscaped park and man-made pond, a certain feeling overcame Goro. It was fear. It was pride. It was joy, and anxiety for the future.

It was Akira's hand in his own, and Haru two rows ahead of him as she said, "This is really nice." Ann lifting her phone to angle everyone for a photo, even though phones weren't allowed.

Today had been easy. Yesterday hadn't been, and tomorrow wouldn't be either. Goro knew now, nothing in his life would ever be a cakewalk. The last time he had slept comfortably in his life had been the night before he went to kindergarten for the first time. His mother had borrowed Sawada-san's iron and pressed his clothes neatly so he'd make a good impression.

She'd wanted so much for him then.

Some things changed. Others didn't. He remembered the first time he put on his Shujin uniform, how snug and clean and new it was in comparison to the hand-me-downs he'd worn at the home. Then, he'd disliked the gaudiness of the checkered pants, the red and black and white colouring. How it'd made him stand out when all he wanted was to blend in.

Thinking on it now, perhaps it was destiny.

Tomorrow would be school again, and the return of a normal student life. Tomorrow would be cleaning duty, and exams, and helping out at Leblanc or Iwai's or at the flower shop. Tomorrow would be buying art supplies with Yusuke, or bringing a can of coffee to Ryuji after he'd washed dishes at his mother's place. Tomorrow was studying with Makoto, and picking tomatoes with Haru, and grooming Morgana's fur and clipping his nails.

Tomorrow would be playing photographer for Ann, then rebuffing her the first time she offered to repay him the favour.

Tomorrow would be sending Futaba home with a container of his best curry and texting her to make sure she made the last train of the night.

Tomorrow would be helping Akira, even if no one else knew why.

Tomorrow would be a lot of work.

But today?

Today was a good day.

So he lolled his head against Akira's shoulder and mumbled, "Let me sleep for a bit," and the boy took both his hands and held them as if they belonged together.

Well, maybe they did.

Hah. What would Igor think of them now.

* * *

It was near-dark, and everyone milling around a bench waiting for the fireworks to start when Haru said, "I nearly forgot. My father should be holding his press conference about now." She took out her phone. "Ah, here we go!" She turned up the volume. Futaba's phone was out too, and Goro's, people straining around them for a look.

"Man, it's been a while," said Ryuji. "I don't think we've had a TV confession since Madarame. What do you think he's going to say?"

"Hopefully nothing too revealing." Makoto peered from over Goro's shoulder. "He doesn't look very well."

Goro didn't think so either. The man on his screen _was_ Okumura Kunikazu, wearing a black suit and sitting behind a table with microphones in front of him - but even through the low-quality blur of his livestream, he looked pale and sweaty and jittery. "I... don't remember Madarame looking quite so poor," he murmured, and felt Akira get up besides him.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"In this crowd? You're never gonna make it back in time," said Futaba. "Also, I'm totally giving Morgana your spot."

"That's fine. I - "

"Come, Akira," said Yusuke. "You don't need to keep closing yourself off like this." He raised a brow. "You're one of us. Remember?"

"Oh, it's starting! It's starting!"

"Sure," Akira said, and trudged over like a man who had lost a war.

"I," said Okumura Kunikazu on Goro's phone, "wish to apologize. For my entire run as the CEO of Okumura Foods, I have been a cruel employer. I - I made my employees suffer for my gains and mine alone. I overworked and underpaid them. I demanded they put their entire lives into the company, and when they struggled I fired them. I made it our prerogative to be at the top of the world, and to achieve that I blackmailed our industry rivals, bribed people to infiltrate them and leak trade secrets and ruin their reputation. I - I - "

He wiped his brow with his sleeve. Someone off-screen offered him a glass of water, and he gulped it down sloppily. Some of it dripped down his jaw.

Makoto frowned. "Haru, are you sure he was stable earlier...?"

"Stable?" The girl looked up from her phone, her face paling in twilight. "No, not really. But he seemed... oh no. What if he caught an illness when he was in bed? Perhaps we should have postponed the conference."

"Oh jeez, he's talking again," said Futaba. "Someone give this guy a defibrillator."

" - but the employees at Okumura Foods aren't the ones I've hurt. For years I pushed away my ex-wife and forbid her to see our daughter. And - and - " Okumura was red now. "I want to - I want to say - "

"Is he going to have a heart attack?"

"Shh!"

"I'm so sorry, Haru," said Okumura Kunikazu, and then his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he began to spew blood.

"What?" Haru's phone clattered to the ground as she recoiled. Ann clapped her hands to her mouth in horror. 

"What!" Morgana demanded. "What was that? Guys, show me!"

"What the fuck," said Futaba. "That's not supposed to happen. What the _fuck!_ "

Okumura stopped spewing. Okumura wiped the blood from his mouth, and got up from the table.

Okumura made a low and guttural sound in his throat like an animal, and ran offscreen.

Someone screamed.

It might have been from the phone. It might have been one of them. All Goro knew was that his own phone suddenly lay cracked on the ground, and his hands were like lead.

When he lifted his empty gaze, Akira was already looking at him with his hair in his eyes and his head bent low.

That, in and of itself, said everything.

Akira's guilty eyes said, _forgive me?_

And Goro could only say, "Was it you?"

* * *

Haru looked like death. There was a frog in her throat, and she was fanning her face as small tears sprung from her eyes, trying to keep it all in. "What just happened?" she whispered. "That's not normal, is it?"

"No, no!" Ann looked petrified. "We did it perfectly, didn't we, Morgana? Nothing was different!"

"We did _everything_ just like before!" said Morgana. "I have no idea why it didn't work, but - "

"Show's over now," Futaba said blankly. "Livestream just went dark."

In this slowly burgeoning hysteria, one could have been forgiven for ignoring what Goro had just said. He had spoke in a voice as thin as rice paper.

"What did you just say?"

And then there was Ryuji.

"Nothing," Akira said, his pallor ghostly. "He didn't say anything."

"No, what did you mean by 'was it you'?" His voice grew louder. "Are you telling me - "

Everyone else stopped, and stared.

"Are you fucking serious," Futaba said. "This is how we find out? _You knew?_ "

"No." Makoto's fingers dug into Goro's shoulders like sword into stone. "Goro. What are you talking about."

"That wasn't a change of heart on display," Yusuke said. "That was the beginning of a rampage incident. No?"

"No," Akira said.

"Yes," said Goro.

"No." He grit his teeth. "I don't know what you're all looking at me for."

Akira was sweating too. Only, not like Okumura.

Only, not like Goro.

Only -

* * *

"You told me you stopped when we were in Hawaii," said the only part of Goro that could think, and then all hell broke loose.

Akira turned heel and ran.

"Oh no, you don't, fucker!" Ryuji scrambled to his feet. "Get back here!"

They were both gone in an instant. "I'm going too!" Morgana yelled, but Ann grabbed him before he could run.

"There's too many people around! You'll get trampled!"

"I have to! Ann, let me go!"

"Just let Ryuji handle it!"

" _Yusuke_ ," Makoto said, and the two of them took off.

"Goro! Aren't you going too!" Morgana clawed at his leg in frustration. "Goro!"

"The crowds are too big," Futaba said. "No one's going to find anyone." She got up. "What the fuck, Goro. I thought we didn't keep shit like this from each other."

And cuffed him on the head before going over to Haru and wrapping her arms around the girl.

" _Senpai_. It's going to be okay."

Haru said nothing. The tears on her face had dried. She only shuddered in Futaba's arms and began, "I," then lapsed back into silence.

"Oh my God." Ann embraced her too. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Goro!" Morgana leapt onto the bench, clawed his way up his sides and slapped him on the cheek with a paw. "Look at me. Say something. Do something!" He sucked in his breath. "Please, please don't let me you knew about this!"

And what could resident genius Akechi Goro say to a plea as earnest as this?

"I had to," he said, and saw his friends curdle away from him. "Akira wouldn't have told anyone else."

"How could you." Ann closed her eyes, and wetness dripped down Haru's face again. "Senpai, what happened to the plan? What happened to keeping us all safe?"

"What happened," Haru whispered, and Goro didn't know.

Meanwhile, the fireworks began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Pain Train.
> 
> BUT FIRST SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT: THE AMAZING @songbrd_ DREW FANART OF GORO AND YUSUKE'S KISS IN HAWAII OH MY GOD!! TY SO MUCH!!!! CHECK IT OUT AT (https://twitter.com/songbrd_/status/1013099144943026177)!!!!!
> 
> Well... as ever I feel like apologizing for the length and the more uneven parts of the chapter (especially the "reveals"), since the self-doubting instincts of a writer are eternal, and this story continues to get away from me in ways I was never prepared to tackle, which makes it a struggle to write sometimes. But at the same time I know how obnoxious it can be to read someone whine about their own work, so... yeah. I hope you guys continue to enjoy this even with its flaws LOL. Feel free to speculate about what the fsck is going to happen next.
> 
>  **Next time** : Drama. That's all.


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